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First-line noninvasive management of cytomegalovirus primary infection in pregnancy

  • Marie Denef EMAIL logo , Laure Noel , Gaëlle Bruck , Justine Gudelj , Malek Tebache , Renaud Viellevoye , Michelle Nisolle and Frédéric Chantraine
Published/Copyright: December 20, 2021

Abstract

Objectives

To introduce a first-line noninvasive antenatal management of maternal cytomegalovirus (CMV) primary infection based on ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Amniocentesis (AC) is used as a second-line tool in cases of abnormalities compatible with fetal CMV infection on US and/or MRI screening.

Methods

Between January 2011 and October 2018, pregnant women referred with a CMV primary infection on antibody screening were followed up by monthly US scans and a brain MRI at approximately 32 weeks. In cases with US and/or MRI abnormalities compatible with congenital CMV infection, AC was performed to confirm the diagnosis.

Results

Ninety pregnant women with a primary CMV infection were included (89 singleton and one twin pregnancy). The first-line screening by US and/or MRI was normal for 72 of 91 fetuses (79%). At birth, 19 of these 72 neonates (26%) had a positive urine sample for CMV but were asymptomatic. US and/or MRI abnormalities were identified in 19 fetuses (21%). AC confirmed a fetal CMV infection in 16 fetuses (84%); 12 pregnancies were terminated, and four were continued, with three symptomatic neonates at birth and one poor neurodevelopmental outcome at postnatal follow-up.

Conclusions

First-line noninvasive management of maternal CMV primary infection based on serial US scans and brain MRI can be offered to identify fetuses with severe symptomatic congenital CMV infection and reduce the number of ACs without compromising the fetal outcome.


Corresponding author: Marie Denef, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège, site CHR Citadelle, Boulevard du 12ième de Ligne, 4000 Liege, Belgique, Phone: 00324 321 85 43, E-mail:

  1. Research funding: None declared.

  2. Author contributions: Conceptualization: MD, LN, FC; Methodology: MD, LN, FC; Data collection: MD, LN, GB, JG; Data interpretation: MD, LN, MT, RV, FC; Manuscript draft: MD, LN; Manuscript review & editing: MD, LN, MT, RV, MN, FC. All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  3. Competing interests: The authors state no conflicts of interest.

  4. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.

  5. Ethical approval: Research involving human subjects complied with all relevant national regulations and institutional policies and was in accordance with the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration (as revised in 2013). Approved by the authors’ Institutional Review Board or equivalent committee (JL/bl/1870 – B4122020000011).

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2021-0384).


Received: 2021-08-01
Accepted: 2021-11-14
Published Online: 2021-12-20
Published in Print: 2022-03-28

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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