Published online Sep 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i25.8922
Peer-review started: April 7, 2022
First decision: June 16, 2022
Revised: June 21, 2022
Accepted: July 11, 2022
Article in press: July 11, 2022
Published online: September 6, 2022
Processing time: 141 Days and 0.2 Hours
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a rodent-borne arenavirus that can be transmitted transplacentally and cause congenital infection.
Data on LCMV infection are scarce.
To summarize the epidemiological, clinical, and diagnostic features of reported patients with congenital LCMV infection.
A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, and Researchgate using ‘congenital lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus’ keywords.
In this mini-review, 48 studies (original research articles, review articles, and case reports) describing 86 children with congenital LCMV infection from 1955 to 2021 were included. Patients were from England (the first reported case), United States, Germany, Lithuania, France, and Canada. The main clinical presentations were chorioretinitis (83.53%), hydrocephalus (54.12%), and psychomotor retardation or developmental delay (54.12%). The most common findings on computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging scans were ventriculomegaly (74.07%) and periventricular calcifications (66.67%). Congenitally infected children showed a mortality rate of 16.47%, with four terminated pregnancies and one intrauterine death.
Children with congenital LCMV infection mainly presented with neurologic symptoms and long-term developmental disorders. LCMV should be considered in the differential diagnosis in cases of unresolved fetal hydrocephalus and/or chorioretinitis.
Further studies on congenital LCMV infections are needed to determine the prevalence and clinical significance of this neglected viral pathogen.