10-year follow-up of congenital cytomegalovirus infection complicated with severe neurological findings in infancy: a case report

BACKGROUND: Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection leads to sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and neurodevelopmental delays. However, the long-term outcomes of cCMV infection with severe neurological manifestations in infancy remain unclear. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient was a one-month-old girl visited owing to abnormalities in neonatal hearing screening. Central nervous system involvement including intracranial calcification and extensive white matter abnormalities was identified. Right SNHL (50 dB) was detected by auditory brain response (ABR) testing. The cause of her hearing loss was determined to be cCMV infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a dried blood spot. At 1.5 months of age, the patient was treated with intravenous ganciclovir (GCV) for 5 weeks followed by oral valganciclovir (VGCV) for an additional 6 weeks. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) loads in her urine continued to be detected until she was 10 years old. Fortunately, during this time, her right hearing loss did not deteriorate, and her left hearing remained normal. Furthermore, the extensive abnormal areas of white matter observed at 1 month of age mostly disappeared by the time the patient was 9 years old. Her neurodevelopmental score was normal, and motor milestones were not delayed as of 10 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: Here, we report the 10-year follow-up of a patient with cCMV who showed normal neurodevelopment, no progression of hearing loss, and ameliorating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, despite having various complications and severe neurological findings during infancy. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12887-018-1348-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.