Disordered gustatory acuity in liver disease.

Disordered gustatory acuity was demonstrated in 22 patients with acute viral hepatitis and in 16 patients with chronic liver disease utilizing subjective responses and objective measurements of detection and recognition thresholds and scaling for NaCl, sucrose, HCl, and urea. In patients with early hepatitis and those with chronic liver disease, the magnitude and the uniformity of the threshold elevations were comparable, implying that disordered gustatory acuity reflects disordered hepatic function per se. Patients with acute hepatitis showed a significant fall in taste thresholds (improvement in acuity) as the hepatitis waned, indicating that the gustatory defect is reversible. This disorder of gustatory acuity may contribute to the anorexia commonly found in patients with liver disease.