Infection of pregnant women with hepatitis B and C viruses and risks for vertical transmission

Pregnant women infected with hepatitis B and C viruses pose a risk for infecting their newborn infants by vertical transmission. We studied 6,253 pregnant women aged 12-49 years for infection with hepatitis b (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses. Infection was diagnosed by measuring IgC antibodies against HBC, HBs, HBe, as well as IgM-HBc and HCV viral antigens with commercially avalible immunoassay kits. HBV infection was detected in 113 cases (1.8 percent), and prevalence was signficantly higher (2.4 percent) in a group of women with a high-risk pregnancy who were attending a perinatology hospital than in healthy pregnant women (1.67 percent, p<0.05). Infection with HBV was significantly higher in women older than 30 years old (p<0.05). HBsAg was found in blood, colostrum and vaginal exudate of two pregnant women; HBsAg was detected in the gastric aspirate but not in the blood of the two newborn infants. HBeAg and IgM-HBc were not detected in any of the smples. DNA-HBV was detected in serum of seven women, and DNA-HBV was detected in the gastric aspiratwe of only one of the newborns. HCV infection was diagnosed in three out of 111 women with markers for HBV infection (2.7 percent), and in 6 out of 1,000 women without these markers (0.6 percent). Anti-HCV antibodies were found in the serum of six of their infants during up to six months of age. Infants were monitored for one year and none of them developed any sign of hepatic disease. These results ksuggest that special attention should be paid to women older than 30 years and with a high-risk pregnanacy, as they are at a higher risk of HBV and HCB infections

Enterocolitis necrosante; escala de valoración clínico radiológica para su diagnóstico y manejo; parte I / Necrotizing enterocolitis; clinico-radiological evaluation scale for its diagnosis and management; part I

Se revisaron 102 expedientes clínicos y radiológicos de pacientes con diagnóstico de enterocolitis necrosante (ECN) manejados en el servicio de Terapia Intensiva del Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, con objeto de encontrar los signos clínicos y radiográficos más frecuentes o significativos relacionados con esta patología. La ECN en nuestro medio, a diferencia de lo descrito en la literatura de países principalmente desarrollados, fue más frecuente en los lactantes de 1 a 12 meses de edad (56 pacientes), con antecedentes de infección gastrointestinal y desnutrición. En el grupo de recién nacidos (38 pacientes) los antecedentes más importantes fueron prematurez, parto distócico e insuficiencia respiratoria. Los signos clínicos más frecuentes fueron: Rechazo al alimento (86%), vómito (79,4%), deshidratación (77%), resistencia muscular y dolor a la palpación de abdomen en un 75% y 58% respectivamente; y evacuaciones con moco y sangre macroscópica, en un 39%. Los hallazgos radiológicos fueron: Edema de asas (97%); neumatosis intestinal (68%); asa fija (47%); dilatación de asas (45%); neumoperitoneo (39%); niveles hidroaéreos (13%). La neumatosis hepática y/o líquido libre en la cavidad abdominal ("abdomen blanco") se vieron en un 15 y 12% respectivamente. A pesar de su baja frecuencia, siempre ocurrieron en etapas de evolución avanzadas del padecimiento y tuvieron mayor mortalidad, la cual, en forma global y A pesar del manejo, fue muy elevada (72%)