Fulminant hepatitis e in a woman taking oral contraceptive medication
Mateos Lindemann, M.L.; Morales, J.G.; Fernández-Barredo, S.; Domínguez, M.R.íg.; García de la Hoz, F.; Halfon, P.; Pérez Gracia, M.T.
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 82(1): 12-15
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 1476-1645 PMID: 20064988 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0436Document Number: 208978
We describe a fulminant autochthonous hepatic failure caused by hepatitis E (HEV) in a patient admitted in our hospital for liver-transplant evaluation. The only risk factor recorded for this severe course was the use of oral contraceptives that are known to mimic a hormonal status similar to pregnancy. The diagnosis was based on the presence of IgG and IgM anti-HEV in the serum of the patient and confirmed by the isolation of a strain of HEV genotype 3f from a blood sample obtained the fourth day after hospital admission. HEV genotype 3 is present in human and swine populations in Spain. The patient began to recover while waiting for a liver transplant. To our knowledge, this is the first report of fulminant hepatitis E in a non-pregnant European patient on oral contraceptives.