A case of idiopathic giant megacolon in an obese patient

Pietro Fransvea, Francesco Cortese

PAMJ. 2018; 31:206. Published 26 Nov 2018 | doi:10.11604/pamj.2018.31.206.16982

A 43-year-old man complaining of abdominal nausea starting 15 days earlier and vomiting was admitted to our emergency department. The patient was affected by a severe obesity with a BMI of 55.5; there was also a history of diabetes and hypertension. The abdomen was distended, diffusely painful, tympanic to percussion and the Blumberg sign was intensely positive; WBC count was 24,000 x10 * 3 with marked neutrophilia, hemoglobin 9.6 g / dl, with haematocrit 30.6%. A distended colon was present at plain RX abdomen while the CT could not be performed due to the high BMI of the patient. At laparotomy a giant idiopathic megacolon was found and a Hartmann procedure was performed. The patient was discharged 15 postop with no complication. The anatomopathological examination documented a normal colon tissue. Diagnosis in obese patients is often difficult because they are paucisintomatic and the physical examination is difficult to achieve.
Corresponding author
Pietro Fransvea, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "La Sapienza" University of Rome-St Andrea’s Hospital, Rome, Italy (pietro.fransvea@gmail.com)


The Pan African Medical Journal (ISSN: 1937-8688) is a subsidiary of the Pan African Medical Journal. The contents of this journal is intended exclusively for professionals in the medical, paramedical and public health and other health sectors.

Currently tracked by: DOAJ, AIM, Google Scholar, AJOL, EBSCO, Scopus, Embase, IC, HINARI, Global Health, PubMed Central, PubMed/Medline, ESCI

Physical address: "Kenya: 3rd Floor, Park Suite Building, Parkland Road, Nairobi. PoBox 38583-00100, tel: +254 (0)20-520-4356 | Cameroon: Immeuble TechnoPark Essos, Yaounde, PoBox: 10020 Yaounde, tel: +237 (0)24-309-5880"