OBJECTIVES

Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection affects 1 of every 200 births in the United States and can result in long-term sequelae, including sensorineural hearing loss and developmental delays. To better understand the considerable financial burden that cCMV can place on healthcare systems, we performed a systematic literature review to describe the worldwide economic impact of cCMV in infants and children.

METHODS

Citations on the economic burden of CMV across all age groups globally from 2010–2020 were retrieved using Medline, Embase, and LILACS. Economic burden estimates related to cCMV in newborns/infants and children from Europe, Canada, and the United States were extracted; congress abstracts and presentations were excluded. Measures of interest were cCMV-attributable direct costs and resource utilization.

RESULTS

Of 751 records on CMV economic burden, 696 records were excluded based on duplication, population, outcome, study design, or other reasons. Overall, 55 full-text articles were reviewed; 43 were further excluded, resulting in 12 cCMV economic burden studies. Direct costs and resource utilization in infants and children were reported in 7 and 8 studies, respectively. Studies reporting direct costs were conducted in the United States (n=5), United Kingdom (n=1), and Netherlands (n=1). Studies reporting resource utilization were conducted in the United States (n=5), Poland (n=1), England (n=1), and Netherlands (n=1). Direct costs and resource utilization associated with cCMV varied widely by country. cCMV-related direct costs among US newborns/infants with symptomatic disease were estimated to be up to $108,000 per hospitalization. The length of hospitalization in the United States and Europe ranged from 5-99 days and 8-38 days, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Globally there remains a lack of cCMV economic data, with heterogeneity among studies and regions. The economic impact of cCMV appears substantial and remains a key consideration when assessing the value of cCMV interventions and prevention strategies, including vaccination.