Toxic Megacolon: Definition, Uses, and Clinical Overview
Toxic Megacolon is an acute, severe complication of colitis where the colon becomes dangerously dilated and inflamed. It is typically accompanied by systemic toxicity, meaning whole-body signs of serious illness. Clinicians most often discuss it in the setting of inflammatory bowel disease and severe infectious colitis. It is used as an emergency diagnosis because it can progress to perforation and sepsis.