Anicteric presentation of fatal herpetic hepatitis in pregnancy.

Herpes simplex virus hepatitis in pregnancy was first reported in 1969. Seven other cases have since been reported, and this communication describes two additional cases. The clinical presentation and laboratory profiles of these two cases parallel those described. Unreported, however, is the sharp contrast between the presentation of pregnant patients with herpes simplex virus hepatitis and the presentation of pregnant patients with other life-threatening forms of hepatitis. Nine of ten patients reported to date have been anicteric with peak total bilirubin levels of less than 1.3 mg/dL before cesarean section or laparotomy. That this presentation may not be unique to pregnancy is suggested by three case reports of fatal, anicteric herpes simplex virus hepatitis in previously healthy, nonpregnant adults. The cause of this phenomenon is unknown.