Skin Manifestations Following Liver Transplantation: A Cross-Sectional Study of 100 Iranian Recipients

Abstract

The increased survival of transplant patients, as a result of several advancements in this field, has led to new challenges, including cutaneous diseases, which have an impact on both the quality and quantity of life. This longer-living transplant population has begun to develop dermatological complications, some of which including cutaneous malignancies result in an increase in mortality, and others in a decline in quality of life. This study includes 100 recipients who attended the Imam Khomeini Hospital’s liver transplant clinic for their routine follow-up and were referred to the skin clinic for a dermatologic examination in order to determine the occurrence of skin manifestations Post liver transplantation. At the time of the visit, 85 of the 100 patients had at least one skin problem, including 85 dermatologic diseases with xerosis as the most common, 41 benign skin lesions (the most common of which was melanocytic nevus), 20 infectious disorders (with 6 warts), 5 malignant lesions (with Four basal cell carcinomas and One squamous cell carcinoma), 4 mucosal candidiasis, 1 aphthous lesion, and various nail manifestations. This study demonstrates that liver transplantation requires lower immunosuppression than other solid organ transplants, but skin manifestations are more frequent than in the general population; therefore, skin care must be part of the clinical approach for these patients.