ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT01062321Updated Apr 13, 2015

Role of Cytokines in Hepatitis E Virus Infection During Pregnancy

An observational study in Hepatitis, Cytokines and Pregnancy, sponsored by Maulana Azad Medical College. Completed at 1 site in India. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 40 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2015-04-13.

Sponsored by Maulana Azad Medical College · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
491
Ages
18 Years to 40 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

Hepatitis E virus is a public health problem in several countries of the world where safe drinking water is a problem. HEV is an exclusive cause of epidemic hepatitis in general population. HEV infection occurs most frequently in rainy season. The disease affects mainly young adults in the age of 15-40 years.HEV viral infection is of particular concern in pregnancy. It is a potential disaster for mother and child. HEV infection during pregnancy is fulminant and fatal especially if it occurs in third trimester. The mortality in the second trimester is around 20% and reaches upto 45% in the third trimester.

Read the detailed description

The study will include pregnant women with acute viral hepatitis and fulminant hepatic failure (jaundice). The women with FHF will be recruited from the medical wards and antenatal wards as all such patients are routinely admitted in the hospital.

The pregnant women with acute viral hepatitis will be recruited either from antenatal clinic and medical outpatient, or from the medical and antenatal wards because pregnant women with AVH are admitted if they have serum bilirubin levels > 15- 20 mg / dl, persistently high bilirubin levels for more than 2-3 weeks, abnormal prothrombin time, evidence of progression of the disease, need parenteral therapy (because of excessive vomiting).

The enrolled subjects will be evaluated on the basis of a pre-designed and pre-tested proforma with respect to history and clinical examination, obstetrics examination and ultrasonography. Ten ml venous blood sample will be drawn from the patient at the time of enrollment detection of hepatotropic viruses (Various serological markers of hepatitis will be done which includes: IgM anti-HAV, HBsAg, IgM anti-HBc, HBeAg, anti-HCV Ab and IgM anti-HEV would be done using commercially available ELISA kits and Extraction of HEV-RNA from serum will be done) \& levels of cytokines (IL-6, TGF-beta, IFN-g and TNF-α). All the subjects will be followed- up till delivery. The promoter region of cytokine gene will be amplified by PCR in appropriate reaction conditions using suitable sets of primers. PCR product will be used for studying the polymorphisms by restriction fragment length polymorphism.

The control group would comprise of age and POG matched healthy asymptomatic pregnant women

Follow up

All participants will be followed up till delivery for obstetrical complications, medical complications and pregnancy outcome.

02

Conditions studied

  • Hepatitis
  • Cytokines
  • Pregnancy

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • Hepatitis E Virus
  • Cytokines
  • Pregnancy
03

In context

Hepatitis

343 studies on the registry are indexed under Hepatitis; 51 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 491 is above the median of 358 across 90 observational studies indexed under Hepatitis.

Browse Hepatitis studies →

Lead sponsor

Maulana Azad Medical College is the lead sponsor of 9 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 40 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Pregnant women of 18-40 years with jaundice and Healthy pregnant women as controls

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. Diagnostic criteria of acute viral hepatitis - Patients having acute self-limited disease and a serum elevation of at least 5 fold or clinical jaundice or both.
  2. Diagnostic criteria of acute liver failure - When after a typical acute onset, the patient becomes deeply jaundiced and goes into hepatic encephalopathy within 4 weeks of the onset of disease with no past history of chronic liver disease.
  3. Diagnostic criteria of Hepatitis E infection - The serum sample showing HEV IgM positivity and/or HEV-RNA positivity would be considered as HEV infected cases.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients with co-infection with other hepatitis virus. 2. Patients with any other associated diseases. 3. Patients with history of pre-existing liver disease.

-

Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

05

Study design

Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
491 participants (actual)

Groups and cohorts

  • Hepatitis-E, Pregnant & Non-pregnant

    Pregnant,Acute Viral Hepatitis, Fulminant Hepatic Failure

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. To correlate the levels of cytokines and its genes polymorphisms with the severity of hepatitis in HEV and non-HEV pregnant women.

    Time frame: 3 years

Secondary outcomes

  1. To correlate the outcome of pregnancy with the levels of maternal cytokines and its genes polymorphisms.

    Time frame: 3 years

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Dr. Ashok Kumar
    New Delhi, Delhi 110002, India
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Dahiya M, Kumar A, Kar P, Gupta RK, Kumar A. Acute viral hepatitis in third trimester of pregnancy. Indian J Gastroenterol. 2005 May-Jun;24(3):128-9. No abstract available. PubMed 16041115 ↗
  • Beniwal M, Kumar A, Kar P, Jilani N, Sharma JB. Prevalence and severity of acute viral hepatitis and fulminant hepatitis during pregnancy: a prospective study from north India. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2003 Jul-Sep;21(3):184-5. PubMed 17643015 ↗
  • Hussaini SH, Skidmore SJ, Richardson P, Sherratt LM, Cooper BT, O'Grady JG. Severe hepatitis E infection during pregnancy. J Viral Hepat. 1997 Jan;4(1):51-4. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2893.1997.00123.x. PubMed 9031065 ↗
  • Navaneethan U, Al Mohajer M, Shata MT. Hepatitis E and pregnancy: understanding the pathogenesis. Liver Int. 2008 Nov;28(9):1190-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1478-3231.2008.01840.x. Epub 2008 Jul 25. PubMed 18662274 ↗
  • Barrett S, Collins M, Kenny C, Ryan E, Keane CO, Crowe J. Polymorphisms in tumour necrosis factor-alpha, transforming growth factor-beta, interleukin-10, interleukin-6, interferon-gamma, and outcome of hepatitis C virus infection. J Med Virol. 2003 Oct;71(2):212-8. doi: 10.1002/jmv.10472. PubMed 12938195 ↗
09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 13, 2015, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01062321
Lead sponsor
Maulana Azad Medical College
Collaborators
Indian Council of Medical Research
Responsible party
Ashok Kumar (Director Professor, Maulana Azad Medical College) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 4, 2010
Start date
Aug 2009
Primary completion
Jul 2012
Completion
Jul 2012
Last update
Apr 13, 2015

Study contacts

Dr. Ashok Kumar, MD
principal investigator · Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi-110002

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2011. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion