Those who develop chorioretinitis usually do before age 5 and almost always before age 10
THURSDAY, Dec. 2 (HealthDay News) -- In children with toxoplasmosis diagnosed and treated in utero, about a quarter will develop chorioretinitis -- almost all before age 5 -- and outcomes are consistently good, according to research published in the December issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
To assess the long-term outcomes of congenital toxoplasmosis in children and young adults, Alain Berrébi, M.D., of the Hôpital Paule de Viguier in Toulouse, France, and colleagues conducted a 20-year study of 666 children of mothers who received spiramycin alone or with pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine.
The researchers found that 112 of the children (17 percent) had toxoplasmosis, 107 of whom were followed up for 12 to 250 months. Only one child experienced serious neurological involvement; 79 (74 percent) were asymptomatic and 28 (26 percent) had chorioretinitis, which occurred mainly before age 5 and almost always before age 10. The researchers noted that visual impairment was severe infrequently and that outcomes were consistently good.
"Parents whose children have congenital toxoplasmosis experience considerable anxiety, even though academic and cognitive development appear to be the same as that of non-infected children. Such long-term follow-up should improve our knowledge of the true outcome of children with congenital toxoplasmosis and enable us to give physicians and parents clear and full information," the authors conclude.
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