Acute viral hepatitis in Egyptian pregnant women; natural history

ABSTRACT

Seventy-three pregnant women with acute hepatitis were selected for this study. All cases were subjected to history taking, obstetric status, clinical and abdominal ultrasonography examinations. Out of these cases, 61 patients agreed to participate in this study. The commonest symptoms and signs were jaundice, urine darkness, anorexia, abdominal pain, fever, diarrhea, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. Fulminant hepatitis was found in seven cases. Serum bilirubin and transaminases were about 3-5 fold above the normal level. Two deaths, three were still birth and five premature labor were the mean complications and the normal labor was 82.2%. A benign clinical course was given in 88.7% and the mortality rate was 3.2%. There was no specific clinical course indicated to a specific virus infection. Pregnancy did not aggravate the course of acute viral hepatitis, but the viral hepatitis could complicate the pregnancy course