Clinical case of congenital cytomegalovirus infection resulting in sensorineural hearing loss in a newborn child

Background. Congenital cytomegalovirus infection is an infectious disease that develops as a result of antenatal transmission of the pathogen to the fetus. In the neonatal period, cytomegalovirus infection may have a subclinical course. In some cases, the disease becomes generalized with damage to internal organs and the brain. Patients with cytomegalovirus infection are characterized by the development of remote consequences in the form of sensorineural hearing loss and neurological dysfunction of varying severity. The study of the prevention of congenital cytomegalovirus infection is an urgent problem of modern medicine.

Description of the clinical case. The article presents a clinical observation of congenital cytomegalovirus infection in a newborn child with an outcome in sensorineural hearing loss. The patient was born at a gestational age of 34 weeks. On the 4th day of life, cytomegalovirus DNA was detected by the polymerase chain reaction method in the urine; on the 5th day of life, cytomegalovirus DNA was detected by the polymerase chain reaction method in the blood; on the 5th day of life, Ig class M in the blood was determined by the enzyme immunoassay method. During audiological screening, otoacoustic emission was not registered on both sides on the 10th day of the patient’s life. From the 11th day of life, using instrumental neuroimaging methods calcifications were detected in the brain parenchyma. In the postneonatal period, the child developed bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Neurological dysfunctions in the first year of life were mainly transient.

Conclusion. This clinical case confirms the high probability of developing sensorineural hearing loss in newborns with cytomegalovirus infection and reducing the severity of neurological dysfunctions with timely etiotropic and pathogenetic therapy.