Diagnosing and treating diverticular disease.

Abstract It is important to distinguish between diverticulosis, the presence of asymptomatic diverticula, and diverticular disease which refers to symptomatic cases which can present with acute or chronic symptoms. Chronic symptoms range from mild intermittent abdominal cramps to the more severe picture of chronic abdominal pain and occasional rectal bleeding. In contrast, acute diverticulitis refers to acute inflammation in the diverticula. Low dietary fibre intake is reported to increase the risk of diverticular disease. In the UK, the prevalence rises from approximately 5% of people in their 40s to almost 50% of those above the age of 80. It is estimated that 20% of patients with diverticulosis will develop symptoms at some point in their lifetime. Diverticular disease can be confirmed radiologically or endoscopically. Referral of patients with symptomatic diverticular disease to secondary care is not indicated unless: the symptoms affect their quality of life; the pain is not controlled by paracetamol; new symptoms develop which require further investigation; there are concerns about the possibility of an alternative diagnosis or patients develop red flag symptoms. Even in patients with established diverticulosis, a change in the clinical picture with development of red flag symptoms warrants urgent referral to rule out lower gastrointestinal malignancy. Patients with suspected uncomplicated acute diverticulitis should be assessed according to their level of pain and associated systemic features of sepsis. In those where pain is controlled and there are no signs of systemic sepsis or multiple comorbidities, the patient may be treated in primary care.