BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) vertical transmission is considered the main route of HCV infection in children. Some authors have stated that cesarean section (C/S) can reduce perinatal HCV transmission. However, the study findings are heterogeneous and high-quality studies are lacking. AIMS: To evaluate the effect of mode of delivery on the risk of perinatal mother-to-infant transmission of HCV. METHODS: Only the peer-reviewed published studies that compared perinatal transmission rate of HCV in elective or emergency cesarean section with vaginal delivery in HCV-RNA+/HIV- mothers were included. We applied the random effect model of DerSimonian and Laird method with heterogeneity and sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: We identified 8 studies that involved 641 unique mother-infant pairs which fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Aggregation of study results did not show a significant decrease in HCV vertical transmission among study (mothers who underwent C/S) versus control (mothers who gave birth vaginally) patients [pooled odds ratio, 1.1 (95% CI 0.45-2.67)]. The P value was 0.35 for our test of heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis suggests that C/S does not decrease perinatal HCV transmission from HCV-RNA+/HIV- mothers to infants.
BACKGROUND:Hepatitis C virus (HCV) vertical transmission is considered the main route of HCV infection in children. Some authors have stated that cesarean section (C/S) can reduce perinatal HCV transmission. However, the study findings are heterogeneous and high-quality studies are lacking. AIMS: To evaluate the effect of mode of delivery on the risk of perinatal mother-to-infant transmission of HCV. METHODS: Only the peer-reviewed published studies that compared perinatal transmission rate of HCV in elective or emergency cesarean section with vaginal delivery in HCV-RNA+/HIV- mothers were included. We applied the random effect model of DerSimonian and Laird method with heterogeneity and sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: We identified 8 studies that involved 641 unique mother-infant pairs which fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Aggregation of study results did not show a significant decrease in HCV vertical transmission among study (mothers who underwent C/S) versus control (mothers who gave birth vaginally) patients [pooled odds ratio, 1.1 (95% CI 0.45-2.67)]. The P value was 0.35 for our test of heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis suggests that C/S does not decrease perinatal HCV transmission from HCV-RNA+/HIV- mothers to infants.
Authors: George K Siberry; Mark J Abzug; Sharon Nachman; Michael T Brady; Kenneth L Dominguez; Edward Handelsman; Lynne M Mofenson; Steve Nesheim Journal: Pediatr Infect Dis J Date: 2013-11 Impact factor: 2.129
Authors: Ashraf A Almashhrawi; Khulood T Ahmed; Rubayat N Rahman; Ghassan M Hammoud; Jamal A Ibdah Journal: World J Gastroenterol Date: 2013-11-21 Impact factor: 5.742