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Clin Exp Dermatol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2022 June 01.
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Published in final edited form as:
Clin Exp Dermatol. 2021 June ; 46(4): 730–731. doi:10.1111/ced.14521.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome
K.J. Kamp1, S.W. Matthews2, M.M. Heitkemper2
1Division of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, University of Washington
2School of Nursing, University of Washington
We read with interest the article “Feacal Calprotectin in Dermatology Practice”.1 The
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authors discuss the potential use of feacal calprotectin in assessing for inflammatory bowel
disease in dermatology practice. Yet, it is important to clarify disease definitions. The article
includes the phrase irritable bowel disease, which is not used within the gastrointestinal
field. Rather, IBD refers to inflammatory bowel disease in which patients have an underlying
mucosal inflammation.2 IBD includes both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. On the
other hand, IBS refers to irritable bowel syndrome, a functional bowel disorder characterized
by recurrent abdominal pain at least one day a week for the last three months and is related
to defecation or associated with a change in stool frequency or form.3 To further complicate
definitions, research has indicated an overlap between both IBD and IBS such that some
individuals with IBD have cooccurring IBS (known as IBD-IBS).4, 5 Although the acronyms
are similar and patients can have overlapping disease, it is important to be clear on the
meaning: IBD as inflammatory bowel disease and IBS as irritable bowel syndrome. It is
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possible that the title “dermatological manifestations of irritable bowel disease” was
supposed to be inflammatory bowel disease since the paragraph speaks to cutaneous
manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease. Questions 1 and 3 may also be places where
the term “irritable bowel disease” may have been used when the authors meant to use
“inflammatory bowel disease”. We hope that you and your readers will benefit from us
noting these possible unintentional inconsistencies.
Acknowledgments
Funding: This work was supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases Program, at the University of Washington (Grant Nr. T32DK007742). The content is
solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National
Institutes of Health.
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References
1. Premjeyanth V, Shipman AR, Shipman KE. Faecal calprotectin in dermatology practice. Clin Exp
Dermatol. 6 24 2020;doi:10.1111/ced.14307
2. Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. The facts about Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Crohn's &
Colitis Foundation of America; 2015.
3. Drossman DA. Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: History, Pathophysiology, Clinical Features
and Rome IV. Gastroenterology. 2 19 2016;doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2016.02.032
Corresponding Author: Kendra J. Kamp, [email protected].
Conflict of Interest: The Authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Kamp et al. Page 2
4. Long MD, Drossman DA. Inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or what?: A
challenge to the functional-organic dichotomy. Am J Gastroenterol. 2010:1796–8. vol. 8.
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5. Grover M, Herfarth H, Drossman DA. The functional-organic dichotomy: postinfectious irritable
bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease-irritable bowel syndrome. Clin Gastroenterol
Hepatol. 1 2009;7(1):48–53. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2008.08.032 [PubMed: 18848909]
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