Symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus disease following non-primary maternal infection: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND Scarce data exist about screening, diagnosis and prognosis of non-primary Cytomegalovirus (CMV) during pregnancy. We aimed to examine antenatal diagnosis of maternal non-primary CMV infection and to identify risk factors for congenial CMV disease. METHODS Retrospective cohort of 107 neonates with congenital symptomatic CMV infection, following either primary (n = 95) or non-primary (n = 12) maternal CMV infection. We compared the groups for the manifestations and severity of congenial CMV disease, as well as for possible factors associated with the risk of developing CMV related infant morbidity. RESULTS Disease severity is not similar in affected newborns, with a higher incidence of abnormal brain sonographic findings, following primary versus non-primary maternal CMV infection (76.8% vs. 8.3%, p < .001). Symptomatic congenital CMV disease following a non-primary infection is more frequent if gestational hypertensive disorders and/or gestational diabetes mellitus have ensued during pregnancy (33.3% vs. 9.9%, p <0.038), as well as if any medications were taken throughout gestation (50% vs. 16.8%, p <0.016). CMV-IgM demonstrates a low detection rate for non-primary maternal infection during pregnancy compared to primary infection (25% vs. 75.8%, p = 0.0008). CONCLUSION Non-primary maternal CMV infection has an impact on the neonate. Although not readily diagnosed during pregnancy, knowledge of risk factors may aid in raising clinical suspicion.