Frequency of Acute Viral Hepatitis A, B, C, and E in Pregnant Women Presenting to Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan

Abstract

Objective To determine the frequency of hepatitis A, B, C, and E viruses (HAV, HBV, HCV, HEV) in pregnant women with acute hepatitis presenting to the medical units of HMC, Peshawar. Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional study in which 442 pregnant women, either multi or primigravida, with yellow discolouration of the sclerae of the eyes and elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) > 100 U/L on laboratory tests were chosen by convenience (non-probability) sampling to assess the frequency of HAV, HBV, HCV, HEV. Results The majority, i.e., 58.8%, were in the age range of >30 years and presented in the third trimester. Of the subjects, 81.90% had parity in the range of 1-5, 89.4% were multigravida, 71.3% were illiterate, and 73.1% were in the low-income category. Anti-HEV was detected in 47.3% of pregnant women, Anti-HCV in 30.3%, Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in 11.5%, Hepatitis A-IgM in 5%, and 5.90% of the cases were virus-free. Conclusions HBV, HCV, and HEV exposure, in particular, may have a substantially larger impact on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes than HAV. As a result, at the first prenatal appointment, standard viral hepatitis screening in pregnant women may need to be reviewed.