Liver disease in pregnancy

Abstract

The liver diseases during pregnancy represent a challenge of both the hepatologist and the obstetrician. The abnormal hepatic test appears in 3% of the cases. They represent the expression of three categories of liver diseases: liver disease specific in pregnancy of which the most severe one being the acute fatty liver of pregnancy, chronic liver previous to pregnancy such as chronic viral hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver diseases coincidentally with the pregnancy of which the most frequent ones are the acute viral hepatitis. The evolution and prognosis of these liver affections as well as the treatment of these depend to some extent on the trimester of the pregnancy, as the affections tend to be more severe in the third one. However it also depends on the possible occurrence of the hepatic failure with major consequences for the mother and her child. The main objectives when managing the mentioned diseases are to diminish the risk of affecting the fetus and last but not least to decrease the maternal distress.