Cytomegalovirus enteritis in a premature infant.

Background/purpose: Up to 2.5% of newborn infants are cytomegalovirus (CMV) positive at birth. Five percent will be symptomatic at birth, including cytomegalic inclusion disease. Symptoms such as hearing loss and mental retardation will ultimately develop in 15%.

Methods: The authors describe a case of CMV enteritis in a 2.2-kg newborn that presented as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and subsequently developed a colonic stricture.

Results: There are four reports of neonatal CMV enteritis in the nonEnglish-language literature. Cytomegalovirus enteritis has become prevalent among the immunosuppressed pediatric and adult patient population.

Conclusions: We propose the addition of CMV to the list of pathogens responsible for NEC. A review of neonatal CMV infection is provided.