July 2016 · Volume 5 · Issue 7 Page 2300 International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology Mishra S et al. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Jul;5(7):2300-2303 www.ijrcog.org pISSN 2320-1770 | eISSN 2320-1789 Research Article Study of maternal and prenatal outcome in pregnant women with acute hepatitis E viral infection Sunita Mishra 1 *, Rajesh Kumar Jha 2 , Ratna Thakur 1 , Sindhuja Tiwari 1 INTRODUCTION Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) is a major aspect of hepatitis and death in the developing countries and asymmetrical source of deaths in among of pregnant women. 1 HEV is a single stranded, non-enveloped RNA virus and is the only virus within the genus hepevirus and the family hepaviridae. 2,3 It was first reported in India in 1970s. 4 HEV is befalling a major public health problem in world. In pregnant women, maternal age in addition to hormonal, immunological and environmental factors may be the risk factor for fatal and maternal morbidity. 5 HEV infection has been observe to have high attack rate in pregnant women and associated high maternal mortality and perinatal mortality rate. 6 The actual source of high mortality in pregnant women is still not known. It may be due to an altered status of hormones and immunity, which was observed during pregnancy in a study done by Jilani et al. 7 HEV infection is emerging as a number one killer of pregnant women in India. 8 Recently, an epidemic of HEV with high maternal mortality was reported among Sudanese women in Darfur as well as in India. 9,10 However, despite the evidence of high mortality of pregnant women with HEV infection, Bhatia et al observed that outcome of HEV infection during pregnancy is not different when compared with age matched non-pregnant women and men. 11 There are conflicting reports also from developed countries where no adverse effect has been observed on the course of infection during pregnancy. 12 This observational, cross-sectional study was done to find out the prevalence of HEV infection among the 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2 Department of Medicine Sri Aurobindo Medical College and Post Graduate Institute, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India Received: 14 May 2016 Accepted: 06 June 2016 *Correspondence: Dr. Sunita Mishra, E-mail: dr_sunitamishra_16@yahoo.co.in Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) is a major aspect of hepatitis and death in the developing countries and asymmetrical source of deaths in among of pregnant women. The objective of this study was to determine the maternal and prenatal outcome in pregnant women with acute hepatitis E viral infection in Malwa, India. Methods: Observational, cross-sectional study. The study population was pregnant women with acute hepatitis E infection confirmed by ELISA technique. Pregnant women with other hepatic viral infections were excluded. All medical and obstetric conditions and mortality were noted on the predesigned proforma. Results: Out of the total 105 admitted pregnant women with hepatitis E viral infection, 21.90% women had severe morbidity, 24.17% perinatal death and 14 (13.3%) expired before delivery. The yellowish discoloration of urine or sclera was observed in 91.42% with abdominal pain in 76.19%. Maternal mortality was higher in patients with primi (47.82%) and patients presented in second trimester (56.50%). Conclusions: The acute viral hepatitis E infection in pregnant women is associated with maternal morbidities and high mortality rate. Keywords: Pregnancy, Hepatitis E, Central India DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20162115