Extraintestinal manifestations of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be a multisystemic disease involving other organs besides the gastrointestinal tract. Approximately one third of patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis have some extraintestinal disease manifestation. Most often this involves the eyes, skin, joints, kidneys, and liver but well over 100 extraintestinal manifestations have been reported. Since these manifestations can be the presenting symptom, instead of the classic bowel symptoms, in some patients, knowledge about them is critical. Further, extraintestinal manifestations of IBD are a cause of major morbidity in patients and need to be considered and addressed at all points of care. The more common extraintestinal manifestations found in the pediatric population with IBD will be presented in this chapter.