Is routine TORCH screening necessary for pregnancy follow-up?

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) among the pregnant women who presented to the Ümraniye Training and Research Hospital and to compare the seroprevalence rates with the other studies fromTurkey. Material and method: The antibody levels of all pregnant women presented to the prenatal outpatient clinic between January 1, 2017 and October 30, 2019, for Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella, CMV were obtained retrospectively. Only pregnant women with immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody results of the three viruses were included in the study. If IgM and IgG were both found to be positive, the IgG avidity results were obtained using the Abbott Architect i2000 SR device with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), following the manufacturer's recommendations. Results: Serological results of pregnant women for Toxoplasma gondii (n = 7535), Rubella (n = 9093), and CMV (n = 2652) were obtained from the hospital records. IgM positivity was found to be 0.6% for Toxoplasma gondii, 0.3% for Rubella, and 2.3% for CMV. IgG positivity was found to be 24% for Toxoplasma gondii, 86.4% for Rubella, and 99% for CMV. IgG avidity test results for Toxoplasma gondii were 5.3% low, 10.5% borderline, and 84.2% high. Rubella IgG and CMV IgG avidity results were all determined following high avidity. Conclusion: Because Toxoplasma IgG seroprevalence is not high, and the treatment of acute toxoplasmosis infection during pregnancy is possible, Toxoplasma screening should be recommended to all pregnant women. Because the immunity to the Rubella virus is still not at the desired level in our country, we believe screening against Rubella is vital during pregnancy. We also believe that routine CMV screening is unnecessary in pregnant women owing to the high seroprevalence of CMV IgG in our country.