M. Bodeus et al., Prenatal diagnosis of human cytomegalovirus by culture and polymerase chain reaction: 98 pregnancies leading to congenital infection, PRENAT DIAG, 19(4), 1999, pp. 314-317
Citations number
16
Categorie Soggetti
Reproductive Medicine","Medical Research Diagnosis & Treatment
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most common cause of viral intra-uterin
e infection. The experience with prenatal diagnosis remains limited and is
based on few reports of small numbers of cases. It is thus difficult to com
pare the accuracy of the different tests because the groups studied were sm
all and heterogeneous. We describe here our experience on a series of 98 pr
egnancies leading to HCMV congenital infection, among which 71 have been te
sted by amniotic fluid (AF) sampling followed by culture and/or polymerase
chain reaction (PCR). Independently of the delay between AF sampling and th
e first HCMV IgM positive result, the mean sensitivity of both culture and
PCR was around 70 per cent. The best sensitivity (95.5 per cent) was obtain
ed after a delay greater than or equal to 6 weeks in late pregnancy (greate
r than or equal to 23 weeks). The present study demonstrated clearly that t
he delay between AF puncture and the presumed date of seroconversion is mor
e important for sensitivity than the technique used for the diagnosis (PCR
or culture). However, even in the best diagnostic conditions, negative resu
lts of HCMV culture or PCR in AF cannot formally exclude intra-uterine infe
ction. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.