Acute colonic diverticulitis is one of the most common clinical conditions encountered by surgeons in the acute setting. Acute left colonic diverticulitis in the elderly presents with unique epidemiological features when compared with younger patients. Elderly patients have a lower risk of recurrent episodes, higher in-hospital and postoperative mortality. An international multidisciplinary panel of experts from the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) formulated the guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of acute left colonic diverticulitis in the elderly (2022 edition). This article aims to interpret the guidelines statements on the following topics: diagnosis, management, non-surgical therapy and surgical technique.
Humans ; Aged ; Diverticulitis, Colonic/surgery* ; Surgeons

Objective: Most patients with asymptomatic colorectal diverticulosis are easily overlooked. However, some of diverticulosis become diverticulitis, bleeding and even perforation, which cause extensive harm to patients. The purpose of this study is to analyze the incidence, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of colorectal diverticulosis in order to improve the clinical understanding of diverticulosis and its related complications. Methods: A descriptive cohort study was carried out. Clinical data of 554 patients with colorectal diverticulosis confirmed by CT, colonoscopy, digestive tract radiography or operation in Peking University First Hospital from January 2009 to June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients with malignant tumors, autoimmune diseases, long term use of immunosuppressive drugs, chronic liver diseases and renal diseases, and mental disorders were excluded. The analysis parameters included gender, onset age, clinical symptoms, location of diverticulitis, treatment and prognosis. According to the criteria established by the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES), acute diverticulitis was divided into 5 stages based on the extension of the infectious process. Stage 0 was simple diverticulitis and stage 1-4 was complicated diverticulitis. Results: Among the 554 patients with colorectal diverticulosis, 358 (64.6%) were males, the median onset age was 63 years; 191 patients (34.5%) had various digestive symptoms, of whom 113 (20.4%) had chronic constipation and abdominal distension, 78 (14.1%) had chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain; the other 363 patients had no obvious abdominal symptoms. Four hundred and six patients were found by colonoscopy and 465 patients were found by CT. Twenty-five patients were diagnosed by lower gastrointestinal tract radiography and 3 were confirmed during operation. There were 339 patients with multiple diverticula (61.2%) and 215 patients with single diverticulum (38.8%). 76.5% (424/554) of diverticula were located in colon, 37.0% (205/554) in ascending colon, 21.3% (118/554) in multiple sites, and 2.2% (12/554) in rectum. The median diameter of diverticulum was 7 mm, and 78 cases (14.1%) was ≥30 mm. Forty-nine patients (8.8%) developed acute diverticulitis, including 13 patients with simple diverticulitis and 36 patients with complicated diverticulitis. Among 36 patients with complicated diverticulitis, 29 (80.6%) were males, 27 (75.0%) had recurrent abdominal pain and fever before onset; diverticula of 25 cases were located in sigmoid colon; 11 cases in ascending colon. Nine cases developed sigmoid colon perforation and 8 cases developed vesicocolonic fistula, and these 17 patients underwent surgical treatment. The other 19 cases with complicated diverticulitis developed gastrointestinal bleeding, of whom 18 cases were male, 11 cases were located in ascending colon; 13 cases were healed after conservative treatment, 4 cases received endoscopic hemostatic intervention, and 2 cases underwent surgery. Conclusions: Colorectal diverticulosis is more common in male patients, and CT and colonoscopy are main diagnostic methods. The symptoms of complicated colonic diverticulitis are related to the location of diverticulum. In addition to symptomatic treatment, surgical procedures are the most important treatments.
Cohort Studies ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diverticulitis, Colonic ; Diverticulum ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies

INTRODUCTION: Colo-cutaneous fistula is a very rare complication of colonic diverticular disease, occurring in approximately one percent of cases either spontaneously or after surgical or drainage procedure. Herein we describe a patient with a colo-cutaneous fistula from the sigmoid to the appendiceal stump in a post-appendectomy patient which also exits to the skin at the post-operative site. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient is a 76-year-old Filipino male who had appendectomy five months earlier and a history of diverticulitis, and presented with a subcutaneous abscess at the post-operative site. The abscess was drained, a colocutaneous fistula was radiographically established, and the surgical site was explored. Intraoperative findings showed the presence of multiple colonic diverticuli and a sigmoidcutaneous fistula on the right lower abdominal quadrant. Interestingly, an incidental descending colon mass was also noted at the splenic flexure measuring approximately 2x3 cm to which frozen section revealed adenocarcinoma which was not seen in pre-operative CT scans. An extended left hemicolectomy was performed, and no postoperative complications were noted. At present three years later, he fares well without any signs and symptoms of the disease. CONCLUSION: Diverticulitis is a common condition in the older age group that needs to be considered in patient management. Colo-cutaneous fistula may be a rare complication of the disease but should be part of our differentials as internists in working up patients presenting with persistently draining superficial wound that either occurs spontaneously or post-operatively. Patients with diverticulitis also have increased risk of colorectal cancer and diagnostic imaging may not always differentiate the two entities, thus colonoscopy should be done if possible.
Cutaneous Fistula ; Diverticulitis ; Colon

No abstract available.
Diverticulitis ; Endoscopy ; Therapeutic Irrigation

In past decades, hepatic portal venous gas (HPVG) has rarely been reported, and the mortality rate has been very high. In most cases, surgical intervention was needed. Presently, abdominal computed tomography can be conveniently used to diagnose HPVG, which has various underlying causes and benign courses. We present the case of a patient with HPVG due to anastomosis leakage after a sigmoidectomy for diverticulitis; the patient was cured with conservative management.
Colon, Sigmoid ; Diverticulitis ; Humans ; Mortality

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There is limited data to compare the clinical characteristics and recurrence rates between left-sided primary epiploic appendagitis (PEA) versus left-sided acute colonic diverticulitis (ACD), and right-sided PEA versus right-sided ACD, respectively.METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and radiologic images of the patients who presented with left-sided or right-sided acute abdominal pain and had computer tomography performed at the time of presentation showing radiological signs of PEA or ACD between January 2004 and December 2014. We compared the clinical characteristics of left PEA versus left ACD and right PEA versus right ACD, respectively.RESULTS: Fifty-six patients (left:right = 27:29) and 308 patients (left:right = 24:284) were diagnosed with symptomatic PEA and ACD, respectively. Left-sided PEA were statistically significantly younger (50.2 ± 15.4 years vs. 62.1 ± 15.8 years, P= 0.009), more obese (body mass index [BMI]: 26.3 ± 2.9 kg/m² vs. 22.3 ± 3.1 kg/m² , P< 0.001), and had more tendencies with normal or mildly elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) (1.2 ± 1.3 mg/dL vs. 8.4 ± 7.9 mg/dL, P< 0.001) than patients with left-sided ACD. The discriminative function of age, BMI and CRP between left-sided PEA versus left-sided ACD was 0.71 (cutoff: age ≤ 59 years, sensitivity of 66.7%, specificity of 77.8%), 0.84 (cutoff: BMI > 24.5 kg/m² , sensitivity of 80.0%, specificity of 80.0%) and 0.80 (cutoff: CRP < 1.8 mg/dL, sensitivity of 72.2%, specificity of 85.7%).CONCLUSIONS: If patients with left lower quadrant abdominal pain are less than 60 years, obese (BMI > 24.5 kg/m² ) with or without normal to mild elevated CRP levels (CRP < 1.8 mg/dL), it might be necessary for clinicians to suspect the diagnosis of PEA rather than ACD.
Abdominal Pain ; C-Reactive Protein ; Diagnosis ; Diverticulitis ; Diverticulitis, Colonic ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Obesity ; Peas ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

The gut is an immune-microbiome-epithelial complex. Gut microbiome-host interactions have widespread biological implications, and the role of this complex system extends beyond the digestion of food and nutrient absorption. Dietary nutrients can affect this complex and play a key role in determining gut homeostasis to maintain host health. In this article, we review various dietary nutrients and their contribution to the pathogenesis and treatment of various intestinal diseases including inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, colorectal cancer, and diverticulitis, among other such disorders. A better understanding of diet-host-gut microbiome interactions is essential to provide beneficial nutrients for gut health and to limit nutritional hazards to ensure successful nutritional management of gastrointestinal conditions in clinical practice.
Absorption ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diet ; Digestion ; Diverticulitis ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Homeostasis ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Intestinal Diseases ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; Microbiota ; Nutrition Therapy

PURPOSE: Thrombosis of the portal vein, known as pylephlebitis, is a rare and fatal complication caused by intraperitoneal infections. The disease progression of superior mesenteric venous thrombosis (SMVT) is not severe. This study aimed to determine the clinical features, etiology, and prognosis of SMVT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 41 patients with SMVT from March 2000 to February 2017. We obtained a list of 305 patients through the International Classification of Disease-9 code system and selected 41 patients with SMVT with computed tomography. Data from the medical records included patient demographics, comorbidities, review of system, laboratory results, clinical courses, and treatment modalities. RESULTS: The causes of SMVT were found to be intraperitoneal inflammation in 27 patients (65.9%), malignancy in 7 patients (17.1%), and unknown in 7 patients (17.1%). Among the patients with intraperitoneal inflammation, 14 presented with appendicitis (51.9%), 7 with diverticulitis (25.9%), and 2 with ileus (7.4%). When comparing patients with and without small bowel resection, the differences in symptom duration, bowel enhancement and blood culture were significant (P=0.010, P=0.039, and P=0.028, respectively). CONCLUSION: SMVT, caused by intraperitoneal inflammation, unlike portal vein thrombosis including pylephlebitis, shows mild prognosis. In addition, rapid symptom progression and positive blood culture can be the prognostic factors related to extensive bowel resection. Use of appropriate antibiotics and understanding of disease progression can help improve the outcomes of patients with SMVT.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Appendicitis ; Classification ; Comorbidity ; Demography ; Disease Progression ; Diverticulitis ; Humans ; Ileus ; Inflammation ; Medical Records ; Mesenteric Ischemia ; Portal Vein ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Thrombosis ; Venous Thrombosis

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to determine the predictable factors that affect the clinical course, especially the hospital stay, the operation performed, and to determine factors that will be helpful in deciding whether in-hospital or outpatient treatment is appropriate. METHODS: We retrospectively collected medical data for patients who had been diagnosed with acute diverticulitis at Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital between January and December 2016. In total, 117 patients were enrolled in this study. We examined clinical factors, including age, sex, body mass index, pain, body temperature, white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, nil per os (NPO) time, hospital duration, computed tomography (CT) findings, location of diverticulitis, operation performed, and presence of comorbidity (e.g., hypertension and diabetes mellitus). RESULTS: In the multivariate analysis, the statistically significant factor related with hospital duration was the presence of perforation on the CT scan (P < 0.001). Longer NPO time was related with pain score (>7) (P = 0.011). Operations were mainly performed in patients with left-sided colonic diverticulitis (P = 0.012). CONCLUSION: We suggest a perforation finding on the CT scan, a severe pain score at least above 7 on a numeric rating pain scale, and a left-sided lesion are absolute indications for in-hospital management.
Body Mass Index ; Body Temperature ; C-Reactive Protein ; Comorbidity ; Diverticulitis ; Diverticulitis, Colonic ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Length of Stay ; Leukocyte Count ; Multivariate Analysis ; Outpatients ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Diverticular disease is one of the most common conditions in the Western world and one of the most common findings identified at colonoscopy. Recently, there has been a significant paradigm shift in our understanding of diverticular disease and its management. The pathogenesis of diverticular disease is thought to be multifactorial and include both environmental and genetic factors in addition to the historically accepted etiology of dietary fiber deficiency. Symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD) is currently considered a type of chronic diverticulosis that is perhaps akin to irritable bowel syndrome. Mesalamine, rifaximin and probiotics may achieve symptomatic relief in some patients with SUDD, although their role(s) in preventing complications remain unclear. Antibiotic use for acute diverticulitis and elective prophylactic resection surgery are considered more individualized treatment modalities that take into account the clinical status, comorbidities and lifestyle of the patient. Our understanding of the pathogenesis of diverticular disease continues to evolve and is likely to be diverse and multifactorial. Paradigm shifts in several areas of the pathogenesis and management of diverticular disease are explored in this review.
Colonoscopy ; Comorbidity ; Dietary Fiber ; Diverticulitis ; Diverticulum ; Humans ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; Life Style ; Mesalamine ; Probiotics ; Western World