Alterations of vibratory and thermal peripheral sensitivity in liver cirrhosis

Peripheral neurological involvement, causing distal paresthesias and/or cramps has been described in liver cirrhosis, and its symptoms are quite frequent in decompensated patients under diuretic treatment. In this paper we reported thermal (TPT) and vibratory (VPT) sensations in 100 well-defined cirrhotics (43 in group A, and 63 in B and C of Child-Pugh classification) to define the prevalence of such alterations and the role of sex, age, severity and aetiology of the cirrhosis, and diuretic treatment. The TPT and VPT values were out of the normal range in 28% and 39% of the patients, respectively. Significantly, the alteration of VPT was associated both to alcoholic aetiology and decompensated cirrhosis, whereas the only parameter significantly associated to TPT alterations was alcoholic aetiology. Multiple factors such as inappropriate nutrition, hypercatabolic status, and portal systemic shunting may play a role in inducing trophic disturbances of nervous fibres in cirrhotics.