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Use of In vivo Imaging to Monitor the Progression of Experimental Mouse Cytomegalovirus Infection in Neonates
05:53

Use of In vivo Imaging to Monitor the Progression of Experimental Mouse Cytomegalovirus Infection in Neonates

Published on: July 6, 2013

Growth and development of infants with asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection

Ruobing Shan1, Xiaoliang Wang, Ping Fu

  • 1Department of Neonatology, Women and Children's Hospital, Qingdao, China. shanrb@tom.com

Yonsei Medical Journal
|November 3, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Asymptomatic congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in infants can cause auditory nerve abnormalities, but does not significantly impact intellectual or behavioral development. Early detection of HCMV is crucial for monitoring auditory health.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Neonatology

Background:

  • Congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is a common viral infection in newborns.
  • While often asymptomatic, congenital HCMV can have long-term health implications.
  • Systematic follow-up is essential to identify potential developmental issues.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the audiology, intellectual development, behavior development, and physical growth in infants with asymptomatic congenital HCMV infection.
  • To compare developmental outcomes between infected infants and a healthy control group.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort study involving 52 infants with asymptomatic congenital HCMV and 21 healthy controls.
  • HCMV infection confirmed by Fluorescent Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR).
  • Regular examinations including audiology, mental, and psychomotor development assessments at neonate, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year of age.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in neonatal NBNA scores or 1-year mental and psychomotor development index scores between groups.
  • Abnormal auditory thresholds in V waves detected in 14% of infected infants, not identified by OAE screening.
  • No significant impact on nervous behavior or physical/intellectual development observed.

Conclusions:

  • Asymptomatic congenital HCMV infection is associated with subclinical auditory nerve pathway abnormalities (elevated V wave thresholds).
  • Standard otoacoustic emission (OAE) screening may not detect these auditory changes.
  • Congenital HCMV infection, even when asymptomatic, does not significantly affect neurobehavioral or intellectual development in infancy.
Abstract

Keywords:
Cytomegaloviruscongenital infectionsinfantsensorineural hearing loss

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