Saliva polymerase-chain-reaction assay for cytomegalovirus screening in newborns.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is an important cause of hearing loss, and most infants at risk for CMV-associated hearing loss are not identified early in life because of failure to test for the infection. The standard assay for newborn CMV screening is rapid culture performed on saliva specimens obtained at birth, but this assay cannot be automated. Two alternatives--real-time polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR)-based testing of a liquid-saliva or dried-saliva specimen obtained at birth--have been developed.

Methods

In our prospective, multicenter screening study of newborns, we compared real-time PCR assays of liquid-saliva and dried-saliva specimens with rapid culture of saliva specimens obtained at birth.

Results

A total of 177 of 34,989 infants

SUBMITTER: Boppana SB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3153859 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature