Talk:Toxic megacolon

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This illness is listed as a possibly side effect from taking certain antibiotics, such as clindamycin. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.164.14.133 (talk) 10:42, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

This is from: http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2743.htm Clinical

   * Symptoms may not begin until a few weeks after discontinuation of the antibiotic.
   * Symptoms range from loose stool in the mildest cases to toxic megacolon (fever, nausea, vomiting, and ileus) and colonic perforation (rigid abdomen and rebound tenderness) in the most severe cases.
   * Symptoms include the following:
         o Profuse, watery or mucoid, green, foul-smelling, liquid stool may contain small amounts of blood.
         o Cramping abdominal pain may occur.
         o Temperature may reach 103-105°F.
         o Extraintestinal manifestations of oligoarthritis and iridocyclitis are extremely rare.
   * One day to 6 weeks may elapse between starting the antibiotic and the beginning of the clinical symptoms. In most cases, however, symptoms begin 3-9 days after starting the antibiotics.
   * In some cases (5-19%), the disease is localized to the cecum and the proximal colon. These patients may present with acute abdomen and localized rebound tenderness in the right lower quadrant but no diarrhea. When facing such a clinical presentation, considering this diagnosis and confirming it with stool studies (stool cytology results might be negative for C difficile toxins) and CT scan may help avoid unnecessary surgery.
   * C difficile colitis should be suspected in infants and children with Hirschsprung disease when it is complicated by enterocolitis. These cases require special attention because they often are associated with high risk.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.164.14.133 (talk) 10:50, 7 February 2008 (UTC)