[Cutaneous and mucosal manifestations of inflammatory bowel diseases]

The rheumatological, ophthalmological- and dermatological complications are the most common ones among the extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The incidence of skin manifestations is estimated to be 15-20% in case of Crohn's disease and 10% in case of ulcerative colitis. The so called specific lesions (perianal fissures, metastatic Crohn's disease), which are part of the skin symptoms associated with IBD, show a intimate connections with the bowel disease itself, as they histologically show granulomatous inflammation with epitheloid cells, similar to the ones seen in the intestines. The reactive lesion (erythema nodosum, pyoderma gangraenosum), that form the second main group of skin changes, can also be found is other systemic diseases, but they are more frequently associated with IBD than the average. Cutaneous manifestations may occur due to malabsorption or drug therapy. Finally, there are dermatoses (epidermolysis bullosa acquisitia, acne fulminans) which have a still questionable connection with IBD. Authors present an overview of the IBD's possible skin and mucosal symptoms and their prognostic significance and they demonstrate some rare common skin manifestations found among the IBD patients of Borsod Country (580 ulcerative colitis, 265 Crohn's disease) in the last 25 years.