— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
Nearly one-third of HBV-infected women experience liver-damaging
"flares" within six months of giving birth, according to a study
published in the January 2015 issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
The doctors in Greece followed 27 hepatitis B e
antigen (HBeAg)-negative pregnant women from pregnancy through several
years after childbirth. They measured the women's alanine
aminotransferase (ALT) levels (which rise when liver cells are damaged
or die) and HBV DNA levels (viral load) every three months in the first
year after childbirth and then every six months in the ensuing years.
Of the 27 women who completed the study, flares
occurred in eight (29.6%) women, all within six months of delivery.
Women who had viral loads exceeding 10,000 international units per
milliliter (IU/mL) during their pregnancies were at higher risk of
post-partum flares. The risk of flares was moderately increased in
women with viral loads exceeding 2,000 IU/mL.
Because these women were HBeAg-negative, their
viral loads were probably lower when they gave birth compared to
HBeAg-positive patients who have high viral loads.
Experts concluded that HBeAg-negative women with
HBV DNA levels at or exceeding 10,000 IU/mL were at higher risk of
hepatitis B reactivation following childbirth.
Viral load during pregnancy far more accurately
predicted which woman would experience postpartum flares than ALT
levels during pregnancy.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25632200
http://www.hbvadvocate.org/news/HBJ12.2.htmLabels: e antigen negative, perinatal flares, Women