Mario Cottone Author
Subjects of specialization
Affiliation
Toxic Megacolon, Clostridium difficile colitis, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
Myself Mario Cottone , I belong to Department of Interl Medicine, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy |
Review Article Open Access
Author(s): Stella Compagnoni, Marta Chiavetta and Mario Cottone
Toxic Megacolon (TM) is a non-obstructive dilatation of the colon, either total or segmental, associated with systemic toxicity. Even though it is best known as a consequence of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) and it is mostly related to Ulcerative Colitis (UC), it may be also a complication of other conditions, such as infectious diseases. In fact, the epidemiology of TM has lately changed: there has been a recent increase in the number of reports of TM associated with pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) and, hereupon, the Clostridium difficile has spread as one of the most important causes of TM. However, more precise data about the epidemiology of TM should be collected. Due to its systemic involvement, TM is a severe and life-threatening condition that still represents a big challenge ... view moreĀ»