Comparative analysis of hematology parameters and symptoms in children with HCMV infection across different age groups.

Background: Children are vulnerable to Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection, the majority of infections of which are asymptomatic, which often leads to missed diagnoses. Missing early diagnosis and treatment may have adverse consequences for the child. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the hematological parameters and clinical symptoms in HCMV-infected infants and children under 6 years old.

Method: This study conducted a retrospective analysis of laboratory data from 223 children aged 0 day to 6 years who had undergone urine HCMV-DNA test at the Luohu People's Hospital. We categorized children into two groups based on the results of their urine HCMV-DNA test: the HCMV infected group and the HCMV non-infected group. Furthermore, we divided them into different age groups: 0-21 days, 22 days-<6 months, 6 months-<1 year, 1-<2 years, and 2-6 years.

Results: The lymphocyte percentage (L%) and lymphocyte count (LYM) of HCMV-infected children aged 0-6y were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) of HCMV-infected children aged 0-<1y and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) of HCMV-infected children aged 0d-<2y were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05), but this difference was not evident among older children. We found that GGT was highest in HCMV-infected children aged 0-21d and decreased with the increase of age. Furthermore, our data indicate that older children exhibit a reduced diversity of illnesses after infection.

Conclusion: We conclude that HCMV infection can increase lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of children aged from 0 to 6 years and can cause more severe hepatobiliary injury in younger children.