[Cutaneous manifestations of zinc deficiency in ethylic cirrhosis]

Thirty-three patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (AC), selected on widely recognized criteria (16, 57), were investigated prospectively for cutaneous manifestations of zinc deficiency. The patients were divided into 3 groups: group A (n = 12): AC without skin lesions; group B (n = 12): AC with skin lesions responsive to a zinc-free topical treatment or resistant to enteral zinc sulfate intake; group C (n = 9): AC with skin lesions cured by oral zinc replacement therapy alone. The lesions observed in group C were studied microscopically. Data concerning zinc metabolism (Zn concentrations in plasma, red cells, urine and hair; alkaline phosphatase values), biochemical criteria of AC (plasma serum-albumin concentration, IgA/transferrin ratio) and a malabsorption test (xylosemia 120 min after oral absorption of D-xylose 25 g) were compared by the variance analysis method. A control group (D, n = 12) was used as reference. Few cases of cutaneous manifestations of zinc deficiency in AC patients have been published. In more than one half of the 15 or so we found in the literature, an aggravating factor (total parenteral nutrition, digestive tract surgery) had to be taken into account. In this prospective study 9 new cases in which AC was the only cause of zinc deficiency are reported. A clinical picture similar to acrodermatitis enteropathica with peribuccal bullous lesions was observed in only one patient. In all other cases the patients presented with a cracked and reticulated eczema on the extensor aspect of the limbs and (often erosive) in the perianal and genital regions. The eczema was associated with cheilitis, glossitis, stomatitis, alopecia and, seldom, ungual Beau's lines. Disorders of behaviour, diarrhoea and bouts of lever regressing under zinc replacement therapy were frequent. Histology was not very specific, except for the presence of necrotic areas in the stratum germinativum, sometimes associated with small subcorneal pustules containing altered polymorphonuclears. In every case, it was the rapid regression of symptoms under zinc sulfate treatment that confirmed the diagnosis. Plasma zinc concentrations were most significantly decreased in all AC groups as compared to controls (61.2 +/- 19.4 vs 97.8 +/- 10.4 micrograms/100 ml) and also in AC patients with skin manifestations of zinc deficiency as compared to the other AC patients (44.4 +/- 9.2 vs 66.5 +/- 18.8 micrograms/100 ml) table V). Changes in serum-albumin levels and in hepatocellular function were parallel to changes in plasma zinc concentrations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)