Relationship between viral burden in urine and hearing loss in neonates with cytomegalovirus infection

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between viral burden in urine and hearing loss in neonates with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. METHODS: Twenty-two neonates with CMV infection between April 2006 and January 2010 were enrolled. Their viral burden in urine and hearing loss information were studied. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was constructed and the cutoff was determined based on their medical information. The hearing levels were evaluated by brain stem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) during the age of 3 to 6 months in 20 patients. RESULTS: The viral burden in urine in neonates with abnormal BAEP was higher than that in neonates with normal BAEP (5.06±1.50 vs 3.73±0.86, P<0.05). Hearing loss was predicted with a sensitivity of 0.545 and a specificity of 1.0 by using ROC at the cutoff point of 5.1 which were defined after logarithmic conversion at 1.27×105 copies/mL of CMV burden in urine. The incidence of hearing loss during the age of 3 to 6 months was strikingly higher in high viral burden group than that in low viral load group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The viral burden in urine can predict the possibility of hearing loss in neonates with CMV infection. Hearing loss is likely to be developed when viral burden in urine ≥1.27×105 copies/mL in neonates with CMV infection.