Features of chronic hepatitis C course in pregnant women

Aim. To study features of the course of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in pregnant women and its effect on pregnancy.

Methods. The study included 111 pregnant women: 67 with chronic hepatitis C and 44 healthy women. The mean age was 28 years. The number of pregnancies among examined women ranged from 1 to 8. All pregnant women had no concomitant therapeutic pathology and various addictions (alcohol, nicotine, drugs). The viral load in pregnant women with chronic hepatitis C ranged from 3.18×102 to 2.4×107 IU/mL.

Results. Alanine aminotransferase and bilirubin levels in the group of chronic hepatitis C and in healthy pregnant women did not exceed the normal range and were not statistically different from each other. In repeated pregnancies viral load of hepatitis C virus was lower, compared with the first pregnancy: median [25%; 75%] = 5.202 [4.079; 6.364] and 6.658 [5.708; 7.380], respectively (p106 IU/mL). At the same time threatened miscarriage, intrauterine hypoxia and preeclampsia were registered more often.

Conclusion. In the first pregnancy the viral load is higher than in repeated pregnancies; pregnancy in women with chronic hepatitis C without concomitant diseases does not cause activation of the inflammatory process in the liver; in pregnant women with chronic hepatitis C, especially at higher viral loads, medical history remarkable for obstetric diseases are more likely detected.