Association between cerebrospinal fluid viral load and hearing loss in neonates with congenital symptomatic cytomegalovirus infection

Abstract

Objective To determine the relationship between the viral load of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in newborns with symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Methods The study cohort comprised 36 newborns with symptomatic congenital CMV infection. CSF from all of the patients were analyzed for the presence of CMV DNA by PCR. Audiological function were performed on them by brain stem auditory evoked potential at birth, at 6 and 12 months of age. Results (1) Of the 36 newborns, 15 cases (41.7%) had positive CSF PCR result, 17 cases (47.2%) had SNHL.(2) The prevalence of SNHL in the group of newborns with positive CSF PCR result was 60.0%(9/15), and it was 38.1%(8/21) in the group of newborns with negative CSF PCR result, there was no significant difference of the prevalence of SNHL between the two groups (P=0.194). (3) In newborns with positive CSF PCR result, the amounts of CSF CMV DNA was not different between the newborns with SNHL and normal hearing (3.35±0.68 vs. 3.17±0.56, P=0.36). Conclusion A positive CSF PCR result and the CMV viral load of CSF did not correlate with SNHL. Key words: Cytomegalovirus; Viral load; Cerebrospinal fluid; Sensorineural hearing loss; Neonate