General Terms
- BPP - Biophysical Profile. A test that measures the baby's heart rate, muscle tone, movement, breathing, and the amount of amniotic fluid.
- CCMV - Congenital CMV. This is the child's actual diagnosis. This means the virus was acquired before birth.
- CMV - Cytomegalovirus (read more detailed information here)
- PCR Value - The amount of virus in the amniotic sac found via amniocentesis. The research has provided conflicting results. Originally, it had been said any value over 100,000 units is tragic. However, more recent research shows that this value may not make a significant impact.
Blood Test Terms
- Avidity - The amount of antibody in the body. According to this research link, if the avidity is above 0.64, the virus will not affect the child.
- IGG - This is like a marker in the blood that tells if a person has EVER had the virus and how much antibody you have against it. They can measure the IGG for things like chicken pox or mono as well.
- IGM - This test tells if a person has had a recent infection, as it is measuring the levels of antibody the person is currently carrying. The antibody count decreases as time passes since the person has carried the virus. Therefore the levels should be very low if a lot of time has passed, and will be higher the more recently the body has had the virus.
- Seroconversion - A change in serostatus. A negative status turning positive and vice versa.
- Serostatus - The presence or absence of detectable antibodies against a specific antigen as measured by a blood test.
Doctor Terms
- MFM Doctor - Maternal Fetal Medicine Doctor. This is an obstetrician specializing in high risk births. Sometimes they take over care entirely and other times they confer with the main doctor.
- OB - Obstetrician. A doctor that handles the care of women during pregnancy.
- Peds ID Doctor- Pediatric Infectious Disease Doctor. A child will see this doctor post birth.
Treatment Terms
- Cytogam - A specific type of IVIG. An easier way to think about this is thinking of an IVIG like a 'shoe', and a Cytogam like a ‘Nike’. One is the generic overall term, while the other is a brand name.
- Immunotherapy - The treatment of a disease with substances that stimulate the immune response.
- IVIG - Intravenous immunoglobulin. This is a blood product administered directly into the veins.
- Valganciclovir - An antiviral specifically targeted at the Herpes Virus. Studies have shown that this reduces the PCR value.