Cytomegalovirus infection in children: frequency, anatomopathologic characteristics and underlying risk factors in 1618 autopsies.

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in children with postmortem study. The records of 1618 autopsies performed during 1980-1989 at the Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez were reviewed. Characteristic cytomegalovirus inclusion bodies were identified, in one or several organs, in 47 cases (2.9% of the autopsies). None of these cases was cultured for viruses prior to or at the time of autopsy. Of the 47 cases, 24 (51%) with CMV were younger than 3 months and 38 cases (80%) younger than 12 months of age. In eight cases, the infection was judged as generalized and considered the cause of death. Two of these patients were premature and the infection was most probably intrauterine. The risk factor most frequently identified was secondary immunosuppression. The lung was the most common affected organ, followed by kidney, adrenals, pancreas, liver, brain and salivary glands. In seven cases the inclusion bodies were seen in the brain and in three others periventricular calcifications without inclusion bodies were observed. Although not a rarity in Mexico, CMV infection is not often suspected. Additional studies are needed in order to determine the prevalence of CMV infection in Mexico.