Audiology Teams Up to Target Infections in Infants
An effort by Adventist HealthCare audiology teams to find a debilitating infection in more newborns was recently highlighted as an “Emerging Practice” by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Most people have never heard of the most common congenital viral infection. Cytomegalovirus, or CMV, occurs in 1 of 200 births. For adults and children, CMV is a mild, cold-like infection. Most of us will probably have one bout of it in our lifetime. However, when a baby is exposed to CMV in utero, the infection can cause lifelong disabilities, the most common of which is deafness or progressive hearing loss.
One approach to identifying infant CMV is to test babies who fail their newborn hearing screening. The audiology programs at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center and White Oak Medical Center united to establish the first targeted CMV screening program in Maryland. Preliminary results at both hospitals support the growing trend for universal CMV screening in newborns.
Several states already have mandates for universal CMV screening. The Adventist HealthCare audiologists are working to make Maryland one of them.
Contact with the saliva or urine of young children is a major cause of CMV infection among pregnant women, especially mothers, daycare workers, preschool teachers, therapists and nurses. Women who are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant are advised not to put anything in their mouths that might be infected by a young child’s saliva.
Once babies have been diagnosed with CMV, they need routine hearing tests to monitor for disease progression, a referral to an infectious disease specialist who will coordinate care with other specialists, and a referral to their local Infants and Toddlers Program for developmental monitoring and treatment as needed.
Audiology is among the many services offered to families who are welcoming babies at the two Adventist HealthCare hospitals.
For more information on maternity services at Adventist HealthCare, visit AHCYou.com/W24Babies.
