Association of Terry Nails With Liver Cirrhosis.

INTRODUCTION

We looked at the association between Terry nails and liver cirrhosis in an ambulatory population from hepatology and gastroenterology clinics.

METHODS

We prospectively investigated the prevalence and determinants of Terry nails in 1,000 consecutive patients from hepatology and gastroenterology clinics at 2 institutions between May 2016 and February 2020.

RESULTS

A total of 117 subjects manifested Terry nails, with a 25.6% prevalence in patients with cirrhosis. When adjusted for age, heart failure, diabetes mellitus type 2, and chronic liver disease, cirrhosis was the only significant correlate (odds ratio 5.7 [95% confidence interval 3.3-9.8]), irrespective of liver disease etiology, with a strong association with hepatic fibrosis stage (P < 0.0001).

DISCUSSION: Sensitivity and specificity of Terry nails for cirrhosis (25.8%, 92.7%) was similar to palmar erythema but less than spider angioma.