ACOG Clinical Practice Guideline No. 6

Viral Hepatitis in Pregnancy

Abstract

PURPOSE: 

The purpose of this document is to describe the specific types of viral hepatitis, their implications during pregnancy, the risk of perinatal transmission, and issues related to both treatment and prevention of infection.

TARGET POPULATION: 

Pregnant or postpartum women and individuals who screen positive for viral hepatitis infection. The onset of these conditions may have predated the perinatal period or may have occurred for the first time in pregnancy or the first year postpartum.

METHODS: 

This guideline was developed using an a priori protocol in conjunction with a writing team consisting of one specialist in obstetrics and gynecology appointed by the ACOG Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines–Obstetrics and one external subject matter expert. ACOG medical librarians completed a comprehensive literature search for primary literature within Cochrane Library, Cochrane Collaboration Registry of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, PubMed, and MEDLINE. Studies that moved forward to the full-text screening stage were assessed by two authors from the writing team based on standardized inclusion and exclusion criteria. Included studies underwent quality assessment, and a modified GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) evidence-to-decision framework was applied to interpret and translate the evidence into recommendation statements.