What are the studies related to giant cells

  1. Routine cytomegalovirus screening of pregnant women using serological methods and quantitative urine CMV-DNA testing.  2.Cytomegalovirus serologic testing can be considered for pregnant women with influenza-like symptoms or ultrasonographic findings of suspected cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy.  3. Health care workers and caregivers who are seronegative (IgG negative) should undergo serologic surveillance during pregnancy. Serologic surveillance should also be performed for pregnant women (IgG negative) who are likely to be exposed to infant urine and saliva.  4. The diagnosis of initial maternal giant cell infection during pregnancy should be based on the new appearance of virus-specific IgG antibodies in the serum of pregnant women (who were previously seronegative), or the finding of specific IgM antibodies accompanied by a decrease in IgG antibody affinity.  5. The diagnosis of recurrent infection should be based on a pregnant woman previously tested positive for IgG antibodies, a significant increase in the current IgG antibody titer (4-fold rise in quantitative testing), with or without the presence of IgM antibodies, and a high affinity for IgG (≤16 weeks); a positive saliva or throat swab specimen or other human tissue culture for cytomegalovirus; or the presence of cytomegalovirus from urine, saliva or throat swab specimens or other human High cytomegalovirus copy number by quantitative PCR from urine, saliva or throat swab or other human tissues.  6. For first-time infected pregnant women, the couple should be informed that the risk of intrauterine vertical transmission and fetal infection is 30-40%, and if the fetus is infected, the risk of postnatal sequelae is 20-25%.  7. For pregnant women with recurrent infection, the couple should also be informed that the risk of intrauterine vertical transmission and fetal infection is 1%, and that if the fetus is infected, the risk of postnatal sequelae is 20%-25%.  The prenatal diagnosis of fetal cytomegalovirus infection should be based on amniocentesis. Amniocentesis should be performed after 21 weeks of gestation and after at least 7 weeks of presumed maternal infection. This time interval is important because it takes 5-7 weeks for the virus to replicate in the kidney after fetal infection and for the amount of virus secreted into the amniotic fluid to be detectable.  9, In case of recurrent cytomegalovirus infection in pregnant women, amniocentesis can be considered, but the corresponding risk-benefit ratio is not high due to the low rate of vertical transmission.  Once fetal cytomegalovirus infection has been diagnosed, pregnant women should undergo a series of ultrasound examinations every 2-4 weeks to detect sonographic abnormalities. Such sonographic abnormalities help us to predict the prognosis of the fetus, but it should be recognized that the absence of sonographic abnormalities does not ensure a normal fetus.  11. Quantification of cytomegalovirus-DNA in amniotic fluid can help predict fetal outcome.