title: Left colon acute diverticulitis: an update on diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
abstract: Diverticulosis of the colon is a common disease with an increasing incidence in Western Countries. It represents a significant burden for National Health Systems in terms of costs. Most people with diverticulosis remain asymptomatic, about one quarter of them will develop an episode of symptomatic diverticular disease and up to 5% an episode of acute diverticulitis (AD). AD shows an increasing prevalence. Recently, progresses have been reached about the etiology, pathogenesis, natural course of diverticular disease and its complications; improvements about the diagnosis and treatment of AD have been achieved. However, the treatment options are not well defined because of a lack of solid evidence: there are few systematic reviews and well conducted trials to guide decision-making in the treatment of AD and in the prevention of its recurrences. This review describes the recent evidence about diagnosis, treatment and prevention of AD.
authors.affiliation: General Surgery, "San Giovanni Battista" Hospital, AUSL Umbria 2, Via M. Arcamone, 06034, Foligno, Perugia, Italy; University of Perugia, PhD School in Biotechnologies, Italy. Electronic address: walterbugiantella@alice.it.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bugiantella
authors.affiliation: General Surgery, "San Giovanni Battista" Hospital, AUSL Umbria 2, Via M. Arcamone, 06034, Foligno, Perugia, Italy; University of Perugia, Department of Surgical and Biomedical Sciences, Via G. Dottori, 06100 Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: rondellif@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rondelli
authors.affiliation: General Surgery, "San Giovanni Battista" Hospital, AUSL Umbria 2, Via M. Arcamone, 06034, Foligno, Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: maurizio.longaroni@uslumbria2.it.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Longaroni
authors.affiliation: General Surgery, "San Giovanni Battista" Hospital, AUSL Umbria 2, Via M. Arcamone, 06034, Foligno, Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: enrico.mariani@uslumbria2.it.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mariani
authors.affiliation: General and Specialized Surgery, "Santa Maria" Hospital, Via T. Di Joannuccio, 05100 Terni, Italy. Electronic address: sanguinettiale@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanguinetti
authors.affiliation: General and Specialized Surgery, "Santa Maria" Hospital, Via T. Di Joannuccio, 05100 Terni, Italy. Electronic address: nicolaavenia@libero.it.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Avenia
mesh_terms: D004239:Diverticulitis, Colonic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012008:Recurrence
keywords: Colon; Diverticula; Diverticular disease; Diverticulitis; Diverticulosis; Review