The condition carries the name of the British surgeon Sir William Heneage Ogilvie (1887–1971), who first reported it in 1948.

[4][5][6] Ogilvie syndrome is an acute illness, which means it occurs suddenly and temporarily, and it only affects the colon.

[10] Drugs that disturb colonic motility (such as anticholinergics or opioid analgesics) contribute to the development of this condition.

The probable explanation is imbalance in the regulation of colonic motor activity by the autonomic nervous system.

Normal colonic motility requires integration of myogenic, neural, and hormonal influences.

[12] Acute megacolon can also lead to ischemic necrosis in massively dilated intestinal segments.

[citation needed] Diagnosis starts with physical exam, observation, and interview of the patient.

[13] It usually resolves with conservative therapy stopping oral ingestions and employing a nasogastric tube,[2] but resolution may require colonoscopic decompression which is successful in 70% of the cases.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that neostigmine is a potent pharmacological way of decompressing the colon.