INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE AND EXTRAINTESTINAL MANIFESTATIONS

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are chronic and recurrent inflammatory diseases. Although the typical symptoms are localized in the gastrointestinal tract, there are also extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs) associated with IBD, probably caused by immune reactions secondary to the pathology of origin. Anybody can be affected by EIMs, which can be dermatological, pulmonary, ocular, musculoskeletal, hepatobiliary and neurological, et al. This represents a therapeutic challenge for clinicians, who must first establish a diagnostic and then a multidisciplinary therapeutic path, in order to guarantee an optimal quality of life for the patient.