Value of prenatal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in assessment of congenital primary cytomegalovirus infection.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcome of pregnancies with proven and well-dated primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection with and without abnormal fetal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. METHODS: This was a prospective study of 38 singleton pregnancies with proven vertical transmission of CMV and prenatal ultrasound and MRI examinations. Entry requirements included precise dating of the pregnancy and known time of maternal infection. Neonatal follow-up was a strict requirement, all neonates having eye fundus examination, a brain ultrasound scan and a hearing evaluation. All children were followed up by specialists in child development. RESULTS: Primary CMV infection occurred during the first trimester in 10 patients, the second trimester in 19 and the third trimester in nine. Twenty-four of 29 patients with first- or second-trimester infections delivered; the other five underwent termination of pregnancy (TOP). Three patients had abnormal sonographic findings with normal MRI. Of these, two had damage to the auditory system. In both cases, infection occurred during the first trimester. In 16 patients with first- or second-trimester infection, both ultrasound and MRI exams were normal; there was one TOP but all other cases had favorable outcome, with normal hearing and developmental evaluations. The outcome of five pregnancies with subtle MRI findings and normal ultrasound exam was also favorable. None of the children infected during the third trimester was affected. CONCLUSION: The outcome of congenital primary CMV infection with normal prenatal ultrasound and MRI exams is favorable. The prognostic value of subtle MRI findings is limited and when such findings are isolated, termination of pregnancy is unlikely to be justified.

Prenatal diagnosis and outcome of congenital cytomegalovirus infection in twin pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE: To study the outcome of 20 twin pregnancies with evidence of primary or recurrent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Two tertiary perinatal departments in Israel. POPULATION: Twenty women with twin pregnancies who were referred because of serologic investigation indicating CMV infection. Seventeen women had evidence of primary CMV infection, and three women appeared to have recurrent CMV infection. METHODS: Prenatal diagnosis was made by amniocentesis of both sacs after 21 weeks of gestation. CMV isolation was performed by culture on fibroblasts, shell vial technique and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of CMV DNA. After birth, the neonatal urine and saliva were cultured for CMV. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intrauterine CMV infection defined as positive PCR at amniotic fluid analysis and congenital CMV infection defined as positive CMV cultures after birth. RESULTS: Except for one, all women underwent amniocentesis of both gestational sacs. In 14 (70%) women, no evidence of vertical transmission to any of the 28 fetuses was found and none of the newborns had evidence of congenital CMV infection. Intrauterine infection was detected by amniocentesis in five women and by ultrasound findings with positive maternal serology in one. In three women, CMV was detected in only one amniotic sac. In five of our six total cases, both twins were found to have congenital CMV infection at birth, all of whom had dichorionic-diamniotic placentation, three fused and two separate. CONCLUSIONS: In twin gestations, as in singletons, intrauterine and congenital CMV infection occurs in about 30% of women with primary or recurrent infection. The placenta type did not predict if one or both twins would be infected. Our data do not exclude the possibility that intrauterine transmission of the virus from one fetus to the other can occur.