title: Lack of association between skin tags and colon polyps in a primary care setting.
abstract: Cutaneous skin tags (acrochordons) have recently been proposed as markers for adenomatous polyps of the colon among symptomatic patients referred for colonoscopy. To ascertain the utility of skin tags as a predictor of colonic polyps in a primary care setting, 492 patients, with a mean age of 58 +/- 13.3 years (241 with signs or symptoms and 251 for screening), were evaluated for the presence of skin tags and then examined using a 60-cm fiberoptic sigmoidoscope by an examiner "blinded" to the skin findings. Among patients with skin tags, 23 (10.2%) of 226 had polyps, whereas among patients without skin tags, 20 (7.5%) of 266 had polyps. The predictive value of the presence of a skin tag was 10.2%. Contrary to studies done in more selected populations with a higher prevalence of adenomatous polyps, the results using a 60-cm flexible sigmoidoscope in a primary care population suggest that cutaneous skin tags are not a marker for adenomatous polyps of the colon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Ellison
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bernhard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003111:Colonic Polyps / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D003113:Colonoscopy; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000150:complications*