1 Medical Neurology Branch, National Institute of Neurological and Communicative, Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014
In the July 1975 issue, Fuerst1 suggested that the acronym for the common congenital infections be changed from TORCH to STORCH in order to include another important congenital infection, syphilis. I would like to recommend an acronym used by some pediatricians to designate the pentad of congenital infections: TORCHES (TOxoplasmosis Rubella Cytomegalovirus HErpes Syphilis). Substituting TORCHES as the acronym for the common congenital infections may be more readily accepted and recognized by pediatricians familiar with the older acronym.