Table 3.
The fetal and infant outcomes in the two study groups
|
Infant characteristics at birth
1
variables presented with n (%) or mean ± SD
|
Infants from HCV-infected mothers (n = 79)
|
Infants from healthy mothers (n = 115)
|
P
value
|
| Gestational weeks | 39.1 ± 1.4 | 39.4 ± 1.3 | 0.11 |
| Full-term birth | 74/79 (93.7) | 107/115 (93.0) | 0.86 |
| Meconium staining positive | 8/79 (10.1) | 11/115 (9.6) | > 0.99 |
| Height at birth, cm | 49.0 ± 1.6 | 49.4 ± 1.0 | 0.05 |
| Head circumference, cm | 33.1 ± 0.7 | 33.3 ± 0.6 | 0.03 |
| Weight at birth, gms | 3105.1 ± 459.4 | 3278.3 ± 462.0 | 0.006 |
| ≤ 3250 gms | 49/79 (62.0) | 52/115 (45.2) | 0.02 |
| < 2500 gms | 7/79 (8.9) | 4/115 (3.5) | 0.20 |
| Small for gestational age 2 | 1/79 (1.3) | 1/115 (0.9) | > 0.99 |
| Birth defects | 0/79 (0.0) | 0/115 (0.0) | > 0.99 |
| Apgar score < 7 at 5 min | 0/79 (0.0) | 0/115 (0.0) | > 0.99 |
| HCV-Ab (+) at birth, n (%) | 79/79 (100) | - | - |
| Detectable HCV RNA, n (%) | 1/79 (1.27) | - | - |
1
All cases in the study were singleton.
2
Small for gestational age; defined as a birth weight below the 10th percentile for each gestational age using sex-specific criteria.
HCV: Hepatitis C virus.