Cutaneous manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Background: Cutaneous manifestations are relatively common complications of inflammatory bowel disease, although they vary widely. At the time of inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis, the mean incidence of these manifestations is around 10%. The aim of this article was to review some of the noteworthy skin disorders associated with inflammatory bowel disease.

Methods: An electronic research of the medical literature was carried out on the web sites "PubMed", "ScienceDirect" and "Interscience Wiley".

Results: The cutaneous manifestations associated with inflammatory bowel disease were divided into 3 groups based on the nature of the association: granulomatous cutaneous disease, reactive skin eruptions and other associated dermatoses. In this review, focus has been given on granulomatous cutaneous disease and reactive skin eruptions.

Conclusion: Patients presenting with inflammatory bowel disease should be examined for cutaneous manifestations. For most of these cutaneous manifestations, the primary therapeutic target remains the bowel.