Cutaneous signs of liver disease: value for prognosis of severe fibrosis and cirrhosis

Although physicians have looked for cutaneous signs of liver disease for more than a century, their prognostic value has never systematically been evaluated. As yet, liver biopsy is the standard for evaluation of fibrosis. Methods: Various cutaneous changes were prospectively recorded in all patients referred for liver biopsy from 6/2000 to 5/2004. Fibrosis was staged from F0 to F4 according to Desmet and Scheuer. Results: The analysis included 744 patients (379 men, 365 women); 520/744 patients (69,9%) had hepatitis C while 30,1% had other liver diseases. By univariate analysis the frequency of several skin cha…