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Review
Postnatally acquired cytomegalovirus infection in extremely premature infants: how best to manage?
  1. Seilesh Kadambari1,
  2. Elizabeth Whittaker2,3,
  3. Hermione Lyall2
  1. 1 Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford and the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, U.K
  2. 2 Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust, London, U.K
  3. 3 Department of Academic Paediatrics, Imperial College, 2nd Floor Wright-Fleming Building, London, U.K
  1. Correspondence to Dr Seilesh Kadambari, Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford and the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, UK; seilesh.kadambari{at}paediatrics.ox.ac.uk

Abstract

Postnatal cytomegalovirus (pCMV) infection is a common viral infection typically occurring within the first months of life. pCMV refers to postnatal acquisition of CMV rather than postnatal manifestations of antenatal or perinatal acquired CMV. pCMV is usually asymptomatic in term infants, but can cause symptomatic disease in preterm (gestational age <32 weeks) and very low birth weight (<1500 g) infants resulting in sepsis, pneumonia, thrombocytopaenia, neutropaenia, hepatitis, colitis and occasionally death. There are significant uncertainties regarding the management of premature infants with pCMV disease which is in part due to our limited understanding of the natural history of this disease. This review describes the current epidemiology and clinical manifestations of pCMV disease which should alert clinicians to test for CMV and also outlines a strategy to manage the condition.

  • Postnatal cytomegalovirus
  • premature infants

https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2019-317650

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors HL conceptualised the study. SK wrote the first draft of the manuscript. EW and HL critically reviewed the manuscript for important intellectual content.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data availability statement There are no data in this work.