Case series of congenital cytomegalovirus infection in neonatal period

Abstract

Objective: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most common cause of congenital infections in the newborn. CMV infection is a multisystem disease, which symptomatic infants generally present with intrauterine growth restriction, hepatosplenomegaly, cholestasis, rash, thrombocytopenia, and microcephaly. Methods: Retrospective chart review was performed for newborns who were diagnosed with congenital CMV infection at tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Turkey, between October 2012 and January 2015. Results: We identified eight cases with congenital CMV infection with an incidence of 0.15 % among admitted neonates. Mean gestational age and birth weight of cases were 32.6 (±4.2) weeks and 1591 (±681) g respectively. Six (75%) cases were premature. The symptoms at presentation were as follows; thrombocytopenia, cholestatic hepatitis, blue-berry muffin rash, intracranial calcification, microcephaly, pneumonia, and bilateral cataract. Five cases were treated with ganciclovir. Three of them died in follow-up. Conclusion: Congenital CMV infection is an important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Physicians should be aware of the preventive measures and postnatal interventions of congenital CMV infection.