Skin is the largest organ of the human body; yet, while people talk about “kidney failure” or “heart failure,” practitioners or others seldom refer to “skin failure.”
According to Jeffrey Levine, MD, AGSF, CMD, CWSP, a New York-based physician and frequent speaker and author on wound care, “skin failure should be considered as a diagnosis in advanced chronic illness as well as in situations when patients are approaching death.” This is consistent with the recognition that many chronic illnesses worsen over time and increase the likelihood of comorbidities and decreased functional status.
Source – http://www.providermagazine.com/news/Pages/2016/0716/Skin-Failure-A-New-Diagnosis.aspx