Evaluation of neonatal morbidity after maternal central neurotropic drug exposure.
Retrospective single-center level-III neonatology cohort analysis of neonates after CND from 2018 to 2021. Control group of neonates born to mothers without CND cared for at the maternity ward.
Significantly more frequent therapy need of neonates with CND [OR 23 (95% CI: 7.8-62); RR 14 (95% CI: 5.4-37); p < 0.01]. Neonates after CND had lower Apgar-scores LM 1 [CND 8.1; CG 8.6; p < 0.05]; LM 5 [CND 9; CG 9.7; p < 0.01]; LM 10 [CND 9.6; CG 9.9; p < 0.05]. The first symptom occurred in 95.35% within 24 h (mean: 3.3 h). CND group showed significantly more often preterm delivery [OR 3.5; RR 3.2; p < 0.05], and especially cumulative multiple symptoms [OR 9.4; RR 6.6; p < 0.01] but no correlation to multiple maternal medication use (p = 0.3).
Neonates exposed to CND are at increased risk for postnatal therapy, often due to multiple symptoms. Neonates should be continuously monitored for at least 24 h.

Infants with symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV) suffer from long-term sequelae. This study aimed at evaluating the efficacy of combining immunoglobulin (Ig) fetal therapy (FT) and neonatal therapy (NT) with antiviral drugs to improve neurological outcomes of affected infants. Women whose fetuses had symptomatic cCMV received Ig injection into the fetal peritoneal cavity and/or maternal blood as FT, while affected newborns received oral valganciclovir or intravenous ganciclovir as NT. We compared the neurological outcomes at ≥18 months old between infants receiving FT with or without NT (FT group) and those receiving NT only (NT group). From 2009-2019, 15 women whose fetuses had symptomatic cCMV received FT, while 19 newborns received NT only. In FT group, two newborns died, and two were <18 months old. Neurological outcomes of the remaining 11 infants in FT group were as follows: normal 45.5 %, mild impairments 36.4 %, and severe impairments 18.2 %. In NT group, one newborn died, one\'s parents refused the follow-up, one was <18 months old, and two had only chorioretinitis as symptoms. Neurological outcomes of the remaining 14 infants in NT group were as follows: normal 21.4 %, mild impairments 14.3 %, and severe impairments 64.3 %. The proportion of infants with severe impairments in FT group was significantly lower than that in NT group (18.2 % vs 64.3 %, p < 0.05). This is the first trial demonstrating that the combination of Ig FT and NT with antiviral drugs may be more effective in improving neurological outcomes of newborns with symptomatic cCMV as compared to NT only.