Hepatitis E worse than other hepatitis infections for pregnant women

Article

S

Infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV) not only causes more severe liver disease in pregnant women, leading to a six times higher maternal mortality rate than that of non-HEV-infected women (RR, 6.0; CI, 2.7–13.3; P<0.001), but pregnant women with HEV are four times more likely to have an antepartum hemorrhage and twice as likely to experience intrauterine fetal death as women with other forms of acute viral hepatitis, according to the findings of an observational, cohort study conducted in India.

Researchers included approximately 220 pregnant women presenting with jaundice caused by acute viral hepatitis, 60% of which were infected with HEV. Fulmi-nant hepatic failure was almost three times more common (RR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.7–4.2; P=0.001) among the HEV-infected women compared with the non-HEV-infected women. The HEV-infected women were also at higher risk for stillbirth (RR, 1.8; CI, 1.2–2.5; P=0.026).

Patra S, Kumar A, Trivedi SS, et al. Maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnant women with acute hepatitis E virus infection. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147:28-33.

Recent Videos
Devon Ramaeker, MD
Elizabeth Gandee, APRN-CNP, highlights gaps in women's menopause knowledge | Image Credit: wexnermedical.osu.edu
Doula highlights how postpartum care is failing new mothers | Image Credit: linkedin.com
Nicky Herrick MD; and Anushree Agarwal, MD, MBBS, highlight their study on cardiac arrhythmias in pregnancy | Image Credit: © Igor Borodin - stock.adobe.com.
Lisa Becht, MD, FACOG, sheds light on fertility awareness | Image Credit: havingbabies.com.
First US national HPV conference highlights advances in cancer prevention | Image Credit: uchealth.com.
Mitchell Creinin, MD, reports estetrol pill eases menstrual symptoms | Image Credit: health.ucdavis.edu
1 expert is featured in this series.
Susanna Mitro, PhD, reveals ethnic disparities in uterine fibroid diagnosis | Image Credit: divisionofresearch.kaiserpermanente.org.
Shayna Mancuso, DO, highlights the real impact of menopause | Image Credit: linkedin.com.
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.