Exploring the Cutaneous Associations of Crohn's Disease: A Retrospective Study of 108 Patients
Background: The integumentary system provides a window into the overall health of individuals and may display cutaneous manifestations of systemic disease. Crohn's Disease (CD) is a relapsing inflammatory bowel disease that exhibits a significant symptomatic burden on a global scale. Although CD is commonly linked with gastrointestinal associations such as intestinal obstruction, fistulas, abscesses and ulcers, it also has an array of dermatologic manifestations. Objectives: To our knowledge, the prevalence of these associations in isolation or combination is not readily described in literature. Our objective was to describe which, if any associations existed. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with CD seen by Wake Forest Baptist Dermatology between 2010 and 2024. χ2 and two-tailed t-tests compared categorical and continuous variables, respectively (p < 0.05). Results: One hundred and eight patients with CD were identified. The majority of patients (54.6%) were women, and 80.6% were White. A majority (62/108; 57.4%) of CD patients had at least one associated diagnosis. Conclusions: Taken together, we propose a five-tiered grouping system to describe the dermatologic associations with CD. Treatments for these conditions should involve multi-disciplinary input, encouraging collaboration between dermatologic and gastroenterology specialists.
