Skin tags and colonic polyps

Cutaneous manifestations of gastrointestinal disorders. Part I

This article reviews the cutaneous manifestations of gastrointestinal tract diseases. In part I, the gastrointestinal tract polyposis syndromes and gastrointestinal tract malignancies will be discussed. The cutaneous manifestations of inflammatory bowel disorders, vascular disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, celiac disease and bowel-associated dermatosis-arthritis syndrome will be discussed in part II. For each entity, a brief summary of the gastrointestinal tract (and other extracutaneous) manifestations is given. This is followed by a detailed discussion of the cutaneous signs. Current guidelines for the investigation and management of these diseases are presented.

Association between acrochordons and colonic polyps

Fifty-four male and female patients with suspected colonic disease were examined for the presence of acrochordons prior to colonoscopy. Thirty-five of these patients (65%) had skin tags and twenty-six (48%) were found to have colonic polyps. In this study patients with acrochordons were significantly (p less than 0.005) more likely to have adenomatous polyps; thus, skin tags may be good markers for the presence of polyps in patients with suspected colonic disease. However, any association between colonic polyps and acrochordons in the general population requires further examination.