Dried Blood Spot Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assays to Screen Newborns for Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection

Top Cited Papers
Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an important cause of congenital infection and a leading cause of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in children.1-5 Of the estimated 20 000 to 40 000 infants born each year with congenital CMV infection in the United States, most (90% to 95%) have no detectable clinical abnormalities at birth and thus will not be identified by routine clinical examination.2,6,7 Furthermore, SNHL occurs in approximately 10% to 15% of infants with clinically inapparent congenital CMV infection and the majority of children with CMV-related SNHL will have late-onset losses, progressive losses, or both.1,8,9 Therefore, both routine physical examination and newborn hearing screening will miss potential diagnosis in many children who develop SNHL secondary to congenital CMV infection. To identify these at-risk infants early in life, rapid, reliable, and relatively inexpensive methods to screen newborns for congenital CMV infection are needed.10 Identification of children at increased risk of CMV-associated SNHL early in life will allow targeted monitoring of these children in order to intervene at critical stages of acquiring speech and language skills.11