title: Hepatitis C virus infection is associated with a higher incidence of cholestasis of pregnancy.
abstract: To investigate a possible relationship between hepatitis C virus infection and cholestasis of pregnancy, we identified all cases of cholestasis of pregnancy (145/16,271) and hepatitis C virus infection (63/16,271) between January 1992 and December 1997. Serologic screening was performed universally. The rate of cholestasis of pregnancy was greater in women whose hepatitis C virus antibodies were positive rather than negative [15.9% (10/63) vs 0.8% (135/16,208), P < 0.001]. Among women with cholestasis of pregnancy, mean (standard deviation) gestational age at onset of symptoms and at delivery was significantly lower among women whose hepatitis C virus antibodies were positive compared with negative women: 28.9 (3.2) vs 34.3 (3.5) weeks, P < 0.001 and 36.3 (0.9) vs 37.0 (1.6) weeks, P = 0.03, respectively. These findings suggest that early occurrence of cholestasis of pregnancy may be an indication for serologic testing for hepatitis C virus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Istituto Scienze Biomediche San Gerardo, Monza, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Locatelli
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roncaglia
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arreghini
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bellini
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vergani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghidini
mesh_terms: D002779:Cholestasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies