Asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection. Audiologic, neuroradiologic, and neurodevelopmental abnormalities during the first year
W. D. Williamson, A. K. Percy, M. D. Yow, P. Gerson, F. I. Catlin, M. L. Koppelman and S. Thurber
Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex.
Twenty-eight infants with asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection
and 13 control infants were followed up prospectively. Congenital
sensorineural hearing loss was documented by auditory brain-stem responses
in four infected infants (two had mild bilateral loss, one had mild
unilateral loss, and one had extreme unilateral loss) but in no controls.
Four infected infants had diffuse periventricular radiolucencies on
computed tomographic scan; none had calcifications or ventriculomegaly. No
differences between groups were noted on neurologic examination results or
on the Bayley Mental Developmental Index; however, one infected infant had
a severely delayed Bayley Psychomotor Developmental Index score. In
addition, the mean Mental Developmental Index score of the four infected
infants with diffuse periventricular radiolucencies was significantly below
that of the remaining infected infants (93 +/- 8 vs 109 +/- 13). These data
suggest that asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection may be
associated with a broad range of audiologic, subtle neuroradiologic, and
neurodevelopmental differences in early infancy.
