JCM Figure table search 04
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Robert-Gangneux, F.
Right arrow Articles by Dupouy-Camet, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Robert-Gangneux, F.
Right arrow Articles by Dupouy-Camet, J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 1999, p. 2893-2898, Vol. 37, No. 9
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Value of Prenatal Diagnosis and Early Postnatal Diagnosis of Congenital Toxoplasmosis: Retrospective Study of 110 Cases

Florence Robert-Gangneux,1,* Marie-Françoise Gavinet,1 Thierry Ancelle,1 Josette Raymond,2 Claudine Tourte-Schaefer,1 and Jean Dupouy-Camet1

Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Cochin-Port Royal,1 and Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Hôpital Saint Vincent-de-Paul,2 Paris, France

Received 2 February 1999/Returned for modification 20 April 1999/Accepted 15 June 1999

We reviewed the files of 110 women with Toxoplasma seroconversion during pregnancy. Prenatal diagnosis was attempted for 94 women by amniotic fluid sampling. Toxoplasma gondii was detected by PCR, with or without tissue culture and mouse inoculation. The early neonatal diagnostic procedure included placental testing by PCR and/or mouse inoculation, cord blood serological testing, and comparison of maternal and newborn antibodies by Western blotting (WB). Serological follow-up of the infants was conducted during the first year of life or until the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis (CT) could be ruled out. Congenital infection was diagnosed in 27 individuals (20 live births) in the prenatal and/or neonatal period. The sensitivity and specificity of prenatal diagnosis were 81 and 100%, respectively. Placental examination was positive for 66.7% of individuals with CT and was always negative for neonates without CT. Cord blood serology detected immunoglobulin M (IgM) and/or IgA in 80% of infected newborns, with respective specificities of 91.2 and 87.7%. By WB we detected bands on IgG and IgM blots recognized by the newborn serum but not by the maternal serum (neosynthesized IgG and/or IgM) for 88.2% of infected infants within the first 2 months of life with a specificity of 100%. Early postnatal diagnosis was negative for 2 of the 20 neonates with CT. Both of these newborns had a negative prenatal diagnosis and were asymptomatic, suggesting a very low parasite load. In conclusion, despite the use of advanced methods, some cases of congenital toxoplasmosis cannot be detected early, which underlines the importance of careful follow-up of newborns who are at risk.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 27 rue du Faubourg Saint Jacques, 75674 Paris cedex 14, France. Phone: 0033.1.42.34.14.97. Fax: 0033.1.42.34.14.96. E-mail: florence.gangneux-robert{at}cch.ap-hop-paris.fr.


Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 1999, p. 2893-2898, Vol. 37, No. 9
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:




Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. Clin. Microbiol. Rev.
Clin. Vaccine Immunol. ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 1999 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.