Campylobacter colitis: Rare cause of toxic megacolon.

Int J Surg Case Rep

Department of General Surgery, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Burns, Trauma and Critical Care Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Published: August 2016

Introduction: Campylobacter is the leading cause of bacterial diarrhoeal illness worldwide. Toxic megacolon is a rare but potentially devastating complication.

Presentation Of Case: A 55year old female with liver cirrhosis, alcoholism and hepatitis C, presented with severe colitis and stool specimen positive for Campylobacter. She developed septic shock, multi-organ dysfunction syndrome and toxic megacolon unresponsive to medical therapy, and underwent a subtotal colectomy with end ileostomy. Despite initial improvement, the patient died on postoperative day 4.

Discussion: Early surgical consultation is essential as toxic megacolon may be complicated by perforation or uncontrolled bleeding; progressive colonic dilatation with clinical deterioration is also an important indication for surgery.

Conclusion: Toxic megacolon should be considered in a patient with Campylobacter colitis who becomes critically unwell. Despite treatment, toxic megacolon is associated with a significant risk of mortality.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5018068PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijscr.2016.08.030DOI Listing

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