Performance of Targeted Congenital Cytomegalovirus Screening in Newborns Failing Universal Hearing Screening: A Multicenter Study.

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most frequent cause of congenital infection and ≈20% of all infected neonates present or will develop sensorineural hearing loss. Targeted congenital CMV (cCMV) screening in newborns who failed universal newborn hearing screening has been proposed as a strategy to identify neonates with both hearing loss and cCMV infection who could benefit from antiviral treatment implemented within the first month of life.

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility and performance of cCMV targeted screening in a French setting.