Extended-hearing targeted screening for congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

Background: The importance of neonatal screening for congenital cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV) is widely shared in the world scientific literature. However, currently, no programs for universal neonatal screening for cCMV have been reported in the literature, and only a few experiences of hearing targeted cCMV screening have been published. In the Tuscany Region, Italy, screening for cCMV has been mandatory since 2008 for each newborn that resulted as "refer" at the Transient Evoked Otoacoustics Emissions (TEOAE) Test, and in our university hospital since 2012, it has been extended to some categories at risk of cCMV.

Methods: We present the results of the protocol for cCMV screening adopted at our Institution since 2012. From 2012 to 2017, 1615 newborns underwent cCMV screening. Twenty-five cases were positive for cCMV, (1.54% of all the newborn screened for cCMV and 0.19% of infants submitted to newborn hearing screening).

Results: Nineteen of the children (76%) had normal hearing, while 6 (24%) had a hearing deficit of variable degree. 2/25 (8%) cases presented a progression of the hearing deficit in the first months of life and no children had a late onset or fluctuating hearing loss.

Conclusions: Our findings show how cCMV screening in newborns that resulted "refer" at TEOAE allows the detection of many cases; but many are still missed. It would be, therefore, important to adopt a universal newborn cCMV screening program or a program extended to newborns at higher risk.