HEPATITIS D PROGNOSIS

A large majority of patients with coinfection of HBV and HDV recover from an episode of acute hepatitis. However, about two-thirds of patients chronically infected by HDV go on to develop cirrhosis of the liver. In one long-term study, just over half of patients who became carriers of HDV had moderate or severe liver disease, and one-fourth of them died. If very severe liver failure develops, the chance of a patient surviving is no better than 50%. A liver transplant may improve this figure to 70%. When transplantation is done for cirrhosis, rather than for liver failure, nearly 90% of patients live five years or longer. The major concern with transplantation is infection of the transplanted liver; this may occur in as many as 40% of transplant patients.

When a child with viral hepatitis develops cirrhosis, HDV infection is commonly responsible. A woman who develops delta hepatitis while pregnant will do as well as if she were not pregnant; and there is no increased risk that the newborn will be malformed in any way.