Barriers of Attendance Clinical Follow-Up of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection in a Low-Income Population, Brazil - Abstract
The clinical follow-up for congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has been pointed as a main barrier for low-income populations. Here, we addressed factors related to the lack of attendance to clinical follow-up for congenital CMV infection in a low-income population from South Bahia, Brazil. A total of 25 newborns with positive diagnosis for congenital CMV infection were enrolled in this study. Only one patient was symptomatic and died due to CMV infection. Half of the families attended a medical follow-up visit during newborn’s first years of life and 8.3% presented hearing changes, the main late symptoms associated with CMV infection. Individuals presenting late symptoms did not return brainstem-evoked
response audiometry. The reported barriers to the absence of clinical follow-up were urban mobility, negligence, and lack of resources. Our results suggest that congenital CMV infection and irreversible outcomes such as mental retardation and hearing loss could be neglected in low-income populations due to barriers and low-adherence to the clinical follow up. We believe that increasing efforts promoting public health and education goals could improve the population awareness and commitment to clinical follow up.