Toxic Megacolon, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions
By Kenneth Kee
()
About this ebook
This book describes Toxic Megacolon, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases
One of my patients who has Crohn Disease had sudden abdominal pain and swelling of his abdomen together with fever and blood in his stools. It was an emergency and he was sent to the hospital where he was diagnosed as Toxic Megacolon.
Luckily he was treated rapidly and recovered after an operation to remove part of his inflamed colon.
Toxic megacolon happens when swelling and inflammation extend into the deeper layers of the colon.
As a result, the colon ceases working and widens.
In severe instances, the colon may burst or rupture.
It begins when irritation or infection inflames the colon, the last segment of the digestive tract.
This alone does not mean the patient has toxic megacolon, but it is the initial step.
It is only when all or part of the colon extends to wider than normal (dilated) and begins to push toxic substances throughout the body (systemic toxicity), that the patient has the disorder.
It needs treatment right away since it could cause tears in the digestive tract, blood loss, and a possibly deadly disorder called sepsis in which the whole body becomes inflamed as a response to the toxins in it.
Toxic megacolon can be a fatal result of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease.
It induces widening (dilation) of the large intestine within 1 to a few days.
It happens with infection or inflammation and is very hazardous.
Causes
Toxic megacolon may happen in people with an inflamed colon due to:
1. Ulcerative colitis or Crohn disease that is not well regulated
2. Infections of the colon such as Clostridium difficile
One of the causes of toxic megacolon is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Inflammatory bowel diseases produce swelling and irritation in parts of the digestive tract.
These diseases may be painful and produce permanent injury to the large and small intestines.
Some IBDs are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Toxic megacolon can also be produced by infections such as Clostridium difficile colitis.
Toxic megacolon happens when inflammatory bowel diseases produce the colon to expand, dilate, and distend.
When this occurs, the colon is not able to eliminate gas or feces from the body.
If gas and feces collect in the colon, the large intestine may ultimately rupture.
Any rupture of the colon is life-threatening.
Symptoms
Symptoms of the disorder may come on suddenly and are:
1. Abdominal pain
2. Bloating of the abdomen (distention)
3. Abdominal tenderness
4. Fever
5. Rapid heart rate (tachycardia)
6. Shock
7. Bloody or profuse diarrhea
8. Painful bowel movements
Diagnosis
A swollen abdomen along with other symptoms like fever over 100 degrees F, heart rate over 120, low red blood cell count, low blood pressure, and dehydration might indicate a toxic megacolon diagnosis.
Additional tests to confirm this diagnosis are:
1. Abdominal X-rays
2. CT scan of the abdomen
Treatment
The treatment of the disorder that cause toxic megacolon involves:
1. Steroids and other medicines that suppress the immune system
2. Antibiotics
If the patient has septic shock, the patient will be admitted to the intensive care unit.
Treatment may be:
1. Breathing machine
2. Dialysis for kidney failure
3. Drugs to treat low blood pressure, infection, or poor blood clotting
4. Bowel rest with fluids and nutrition given directly into a vein
5. Oxygen
If rapid distension is not treated, an opening or rupture can occur in the colon.
A suction tube may be needed to remove gas from the distended megacolon
If non-surgical treatments do not ease the condition in 2 or 3 days, the patient will likely need surgery to remove all or section of the colon.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Toxic Megacolon
Chapter 2 Causes
Kenneth Kee
Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"
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Toxic Megacolon, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions - Kenneth Kee
Toxic Megacolon,
A
Simple
Guide
To
The Condition,
Diagnosis,
Treatment
And
Related Conditions
By
Dr Kenneth Kee
M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)
Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)
Copyright Kenneth Kee 2019 Smashwords Edition
Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com
Dedication
This book is dedicated
To my wife Dorothy
And my children
Carolyn, Grace
And Kelvin
This book describes Toxic Megacolon, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.
(What You Need to Treat Toxic Megacolon)
This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.
If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Introduction
I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.
My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.
Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).
I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.
This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale
was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders
into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale
on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.
From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.
Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.
For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.
The later books go into more details of medical disorders.
The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.
Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.
As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.
Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.
I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.
I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.
I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.
Chapter 1
Toxic Megacolon
One of my patients who had Crohn Disease had sudden abdominal pain and swelling of his abdomen together with fever and blood in his stools.
It was an emergency and he was sent to the hospital where he was diagnosed as Toxic Megacolon.
Luckily he was treated rapidly and recovered after an operation to remove part of his inflamed colon.
What is Toxic Megacolon?
The Megacolon is the dilatation and often hypertrophy of segment or the complete colon that is linked with constipation.
Toxic megacolon happens when swelling and inflammation extend into the deeper layers of the colon.
As a result, the colon ceases working and widens.
In severe instances, the colon may burst or rupture.
It begins when irritation or infection inflames the colon, the last segment of the digestive tract.
This alone does not mean the patient has toxic megacolon, but it is the initial step.
It is only when all or part of the colon extends to wider than normal (dilated) and begins to push toxic substances throughout the body (systemic toxicity), that the patient has the disorder.
It needs treatment right away since it could cause tears in the digestive tract, blood loss, and a possibly deadly disorder called sepsis in which the whole body becomes inflamed as a response to the toxins in it.
Toxic megacolon can be a