Cytomegalovirus and the otolaryngologist

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is ubiquitous and has been documented as the etiologic factor in several diseases ranging from respiratory tract infection to congenital deafness. Special clinical manifestations of CMV of interest to the otolaryngologist are presented as related to the temporal bone and audiovestibular system, the facial nerve, the aerodigestive tract, the thyroid, the hematopoietic-lymphoreticular system, and salivary gland. In addition, current concepts of CMV oncogenic potential are discussed as they relate to head and neck neoplasms. The results of a study performed on surgical pathology specimens obtained from 26 patients, in an attempt to isolate CMV in tissue culture from salivary gland and/or neoplasms of the head and neck, detected no evidence of viral presence. The significance of these findings and the role of future research is discussed.