Hepatitis B virus infection: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission and exacerbation during pregnancy

The aims of this study were to assess the effect of maternal screening for hepatitis B (HB) virus and a perinatal prevention program of mother-to-child transmission, and to identify clinical characteristics and findings associated with HB exacerbation during pregnancy. This prospective cohort study enrolled 3796 pregnant women and their neonates with informed consent. Pregnant women underwent maternal universal screening for HBs antigen (Ag) in the first trimester. If HBs Ag was positive, serum levels of HBe Ag, alanine transaminase (AST), aspartate aminotransferase (ALT), and HB virus (HBV) DNA were measured. All neonates delivered from HBs Ag-positive women were given HB immune globulin and HB vaccine based on the guidelines of the perinatal prevention program. Of the 3796 pregnant women, 40 (1.05%) tested positive for HBs Ag. Three (7.5%) of the 40 HBs Ag-positive women experienced exacerbation of HBV infection during pregnancy. Serum levels of AST (median 776 vs. 22 mIU/ml, p < 0.01), ALT (median 325 vs. 15 mIU/ml, p < 0.01), and HBV-DNA (median 9.1 vs. 5.4 log copies/ml, p < 0.05), and frequencies of HBe Ag-positive (100% vs. 29.7%, p < 0.05) and symptoms of itching or general fatigue (66.7% vs. 0%, p < 0.01) in three women with exacerbation of HBV infection were significantly higher than those in 37 women without exacerbation. There was no case of mother-to-child transmission, suggesting the perinatal HBV prevention program was effective. Levels of HBe Ag, liver enzymes, and HBV-DNA as well as symptoms of itching and general fatigue should be carefully monitored for HBs Ag-positive women during pregnancy and the postpartum period.