title: Clinical features of colonic diverticular disease.
abstract: Colonic diverticular disease is extremely common in developed countries. Although the majority of patients with diverticulosis remain asymptomatic, about one-third of the patients manifest the disease with either hemorrhage or inflammation. Diverticulitis may be uncomplicated or complicated by abscess formation, perforation with peritonitis, fistula, intestinal obstruction, or stricture. Controversy exists regarding the aggressiveness of diverticulitis during recurrent attacks of the disease as well as in special groups of patients including immunocompromised patients, young patients, and patients with right-sided disease. Clinical characteristics of symptomatic uncomplicated disease can be similar to irritable bowel syndrome, while acute diverticulitis is sometimes difficult to distinguish from segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis. The considerable clinical overlap between those entities with diverticular disease demonstrates that there are still areas of uncertainty in their physiopathology.
authors: 2nd Propedeutical Department of Surgery, Medical School, Hippokratio General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 49 Konstantinoupoleos str, PC, 54642 Thessaloniki, Greece. niksym@hotmail.com
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Symeonidis
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Psarras
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Lalountas
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Baltatzis
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Micha
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Pavlidis
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Sakantamis
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D003092:Colitis / Q000209:etiology; D004239:Diverticulitis, Colonic / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005402:Fistula / Q000209:etiology*; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000209:etiology*; D012008:Recurrence