Liver cirrhosis and pregnancy: A case report and a review of the reported cases in Korea

Pregnancy is rarely encountered in women with liver cirrhosis, but can occur in all forms of liver cirrhosis. The amount of data regarding pregnancy in cirrhotic patients is not great and thus no clear-cut guidelines for management can be outlined. Another interesting point of pregnancy in liver cirrhosis would be how pregnancy affects liver function in cirrhotic patients. In Korea, only 6 pregnancies in 5 patients have been reported. Recently, we experienced a case of pregnancy in a patient with liver cirrhosis. A 36 year-old, primigravida woman presented at 23 weeks of gestation. B-viral liver cirrhosis was diagnosed 2 months earlier when she had developed generalized edema and ascites. We observed a recovery of hyperbilirubinemia and hypoalbuminemia after a therapeutic termination of pregnancy. This case may illustrate that pregnancy can deteriorate liver function in some patients with liver cirrhosis. We report this case with an analysis of the reported cases in Korea.ope