Outcomes of a Population-Based Congenital Cytomegalovirus Screening Program.

Importance: Detection of congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection has previously relied on targeted screening programs or clinical recognition; however, these approaches miss most cCMV-infected newborns and fail to identify those infants who are asymptomatic at birth but at risk for late-onset sensorineural hearing loss.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of using routinely collected newborn dried blood spots (DBS) in a population-based cCMV screen to identify infants at risk for hearing loss and describe outcomes of infants screened.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This diagnostic study of a population-based screening program in Ontario, Canada, took place from July 29, 2019, to July 31, 2023.

Medications to manage infant pain, distress and end-of-life symptoms in the immediate postpartum period.

Introduction: Perinatal palliative care (PnPC) is a growing field where healthcare providers from multiple disciplines are supporting families and providing holistic care for their babies with life-limiting illnesses. It is important to have an approach that includes the standardized management of end-of-life symptoms that are anticipated around the time of birth.

Areas Covered: A need was identified to develop medication orders for the initial pharmacological management of symptoms at end-of-life for infants with life-limiting conditions intended for use outside of an intensive care setting.