title: Long-term treatment with mesalazine in patients with symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease.
abstract: The aim of this work was to compare the recurrence of diverticulitis during a 5-year follow-up in a population of patients affected by symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD), taking either 800 mg of mesalamine b.i.d for 10 days every month or no 5-ASA. Sixty-seven consecutive patients affected by SUDD followed-up every 6 months for 5 years. All patients in this group (M-group) were requested to consume mesalamine 800 mg b.i.d for 10 days every month. A control group (C-group) of 82 subjects with SUDD allocated in an institution for the elderly and taking no 5-ASA medications was also followed-up for the same period. As a result in the M-group 14.9% of patients did not complete the follow-up, and diverticulitis developed in two patients (4%; 95% CI 1.1-13.5). In the C-group 6.1% patients did not complete the follow-up, and diverticulitis developed in 8 patients (10.4%; 95% CI 5.4-19.2). The difference between the two groups was not significant (difference = -6.4%; 95% CI -15.6 to 4.3; log rank test: p = 0.1256). Cyclic treatment with mesalazine seems to be clinical, although not statistically effective in reducing the incidence of diverticulitis. In future well-designed RCTs are necessary to demonstrate the therapeutic gain of the use of mesalazine, if any, in the management of patients with SUDD.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Unit, Versilia Hospital, Lido di Camaiore, Italy. gattaluigi@yahoo.it
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gatta
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Mario
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Curlo
authors.forename: Dino
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vaira
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pilotto
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lucarini
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lera
authors.forename: Kajo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Enkleda
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Franzé
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scarpignato
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000368:Aged; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004239:Diverticulitis, Colonic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D019804:Mesalamine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D019804:Mesalamine