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Background: Persisting abdominal complaints are common after an episode of diverticulitis treated conservatively. Furthermore, some patients develop frequent recurrences. These two groups of patients suffer greatly from their disease, as shown by impaired health related quality of life and increased costs due to multiple specialist consultations, pain medication and productivity losses.Both conservative and operative management of patients with persisting abdominal complaints after an episode of diverticulitis and/or frequently recurring diverticulitis are applied. However, direct comparison by a randomised controlled trial is necessary to determine which is superior in relieving symptoms, optimising health related quality of life, minimising costs and preventing diverticulitis recurrences against acceptable morbidity and mortality associated with surgery or the occurrence of a complicated recurrence after conservative management.We, therefore, constructed a randomised clinical trial comparing these two treatment strategies.Methods/design: The DIRECT trial is a multicenter randomised clinical trial. Patients (18-75 years) presenting themselves with persisting abdominal complaints after an episode of diverticulitis and/or three or more recurrences within 2 years will be included and randomised. Patients randomised for conservative treatment are treated according to the current daily practice (antibiotics, analgetics and/or expectant management). Patients randomised for elective resection will undergo an elective resection of the affected colon segment. Preferably, a laparoscopic approach is used.The primary outcome is health related quality of life measured by the Gastro-intestinal Quality of Life Index, Short-Form 36, EQ-5D and a visual analogue scale for pain quantification. Secondary endpoints are morbidity, mortality and total costs. The total follow-up will be three years.Discussion: Considering the high incidence and the multicenter design of this study, it may be assumed that the number of patients needed for this study (n = 214), may be gathered within one and a half year.Depending on the expertise and available equipment, we prefer to perform a laparoscopic resection on patients randomised for elective surgery. Should this be impossible, an open technique may be used as this also reflects the current situation.Trial Registration: (Trial register number: NTR1478). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Most diverticulitis patients (80%) who are referred to secondary care have uncomplicated diverticulitis (UD) which is a self-limiting disease and can be treated at home. The aim of this study is to develop a diagnostic model that can safely rule out complicated diverticulitis (CD) based on clinical and laboratory parameters to reduce unnecessary referrals., Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed including all patients who presented at the emergency department with CT-proven diverticulitis. Patient characteristics, clinical signs and laboratory parameters were collected. CD was defined as > Hinchey 1A. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to quantify which (combination of) variables were independently related to the presence or absence of CD. A diagnostic prediction model was developed and validated to rule out CD., Results: A total of 943 patients were included of whom 172 (18%) had CD. The dataset was randomly split into a derivation and validation set. The derivation dataset contained 475 patients of whom 82 (18%) patients had CD. Age, vomiting, generalized abdominal pain, change in bowel habit, abdominal guarding, C-reactive protein and leucocytosis were univariably related to CD. The final validated diagnostic model included abdominal guarding, C-reactive protein and leucocytosis (AUC 0.79 (95% CI 0.73-0.84)). At a CD risk threshold of ≤7.5% this model had a negative predictive value of 96%., Conclusion: This proposed prediction model can safely rule out complicated diverticulitis. Clinical practitioners could cautiously use this model to aid them in the decision whether or not to subject patients to further secondary care diagnostics or treatment.

Aim: The optimal diet for uncomplicated diverticulitis is unclear. Guidelines refrain from recommendation due to lack of objective information. The aim of the study was to determine whether an unrestricted diet during a first acute episode of uncomplicated diverticulitis is safe., Method: A prospective cohort study was performed of patients diagnosed with diverticulitis for the first time between 2012 and 2014. Requirements for inclusion were radiologically proven modified Hinchey Ia/b diverticulitis, American Society of Anesthesiologists class I-III and the ability to tolerate an unrestricted diet. Exclusion criteria were the use of antibiotics and suspicion of inflammatory bowel disease or malignancy. All included patients were advised to take an unrestricted diet. The primary outcome parameter was morbidity. Secondary outcome measures were the development of recurrence and ongoing symptoms., Results: There were 86 patients including 37 (43.0%) men. All patients were confirmed to have taken an unrestricted diet. There were nine adverse events in seven patients. These consisted of readmission for pain (five), recurrent diverticulitis (one) and surgery (three) for ongoing symptoms (two) and Hinchey Stage III (one). Seventeen (19.8%) patients experienced continuing symptoms 6 months after the initial episode and 4 (4.7%) experienced recurrent diverticulitis., Conclusion: The incidence of complications among patients taking an unrestricted diet during an initial acute uncomplicated episode of diverticulitis was in line with that reported in the literature., (Colorectal Disease © 2016 The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland.)

Background: The controversy about the treatment of acute colonic diverticulitis in young patients continues. The discussion is focused on whether younger age is a risk factor for recurrence or a complicated course, thereby subject to different treatment choices., Aim: In this study, we investigated whether an episode of acute diverticulitis at a younger age (≤50 years) has a higher recurrence rate or a more severe outcome., Material and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in four teaching hospitals using hospital registry codes for diverticulitis. All patients diagnosed with acute diverticulitis between January 2004 and January 2012, confirmed by imaging, were included., Results: A total of 1,441 consecutive patients were identified as having primary acute diverticulitis of the sigmoid colon. Four hundred and sixty-three patients (32.1%) were ≤50 years (group 1) and 978 patients (67.9%) were older than 50 years (group 2). Twenty patients (4.3%) needed emergency surgery, due to perforated diverticulitis, within 72 h at first presentation in group 1 compared to 77 patients (7.8%) in group 2 (p = 0.029). Surgery within 30 days was needed for 29 of 463 patient (6.2%) in group 1 and 104 of 978 patients (10.6%) in group 2 (p = 0.02). Recurrence rate after a median follow-up of 22 months was comparable among groups (25.6% (111 patients) in group 1 versus 23.8% (208 patients) in group 2; p = 0.278). Also, cumulative recurrence was comparable among groups., Conclusion: Younger age is neither associated with a more severe presentation of diverticulitis nor with a higher incidence in recurrence.

Purpose: Diet restrictions are usually advised as part of the conservative treatment for the acute phase of a diverticulitis episode. To date, the rationale behind diet restrictions has never been thoroughly studied. This study aims to investigate which factors influence the choice of dietary restriction at presentation. Additionally, the effect of dietary restrictions on hospitalization duration is investigated., Methods: All patients hospitalized for Hinchey 0, Ia, or Ib diverticulitis between January 2010 and June 2011 were included. Patients were categorized according to the diet imposed by the treating physician at presentation and included nil per os, clear liquid, liquid diet, and solid foods. The relation between Hinchey classification, C-reactive protein, leucocyte count and temperature at presentation and diet choice was examined. Subsequently, the relation between diet restriction and number of days hospitalized was studied., Results: Of the 256 patients included in the study 65 received nil per os, 89 clear liquid, 75 liquid diet, and 27 solid foods at presentation. Solely high temperature appeared to be related to a more restrictive diet choice at presentation. Patients who received liquid diet (HR 1.66 CI 1.19-2.33) or solid foods (HR 2.39 CI 1.52-3.78) were more likely to be discharged compared to patient who received clear liquid diet (HR 1.26 CI 1.52-3.78) or nils per os (reference group). This relation remained statistically significant after correction for disease severity, treatment and complications., Conclusion: Physicians appeared to prefer a more restrictive diet with increasing temperature at presentation. Notably, dietary restrictions prolong hospital stay.

Objective: To compare patients younger and older than 50 years with diverticulitis with regard to complications, disease recurrence and to the need for surgery., Material and Methods: A literature review and meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane databases were searched for longitudinal cohort studies comparing patients younger and older than 50 years with diverticulitis., Results: Eight studies were included with a total of 4.751 (male:female 1:0.66) patients younger and 18.328 (male:female 1:1.67) older than 50 years of age. The risk of developing at least one recurrent episode was significantly higher among patients younger than 50 years (pooled RR 1.73; 95% CI 1.40-2.13) with an estimated cumulative risk of 30% compared with 17.3% in older patients. The risk of requiring surgery during hospitalization for a primary episode of diverticulitis was equal in both age groups (pooled RR 0.99; 95% CI 0.74-1.32) and estimated at approximately 20%. Patients younger than 50 years more frequently required urgent surgery during hospitalization for a subsequent recurrent episode (pooled RR 1.46; 95% CI 1.29-1.66); the cumulative risk was 7.3% in younger and 4.9% in patients older than 50 years., Conclusion: Patients younger than 50 years only differ substantially in risk for recurrent disease from patients older than 50 years of age. Although the relative risk for requiring urgent surgery for recurrent disease was higher in younger patient, one should consider that the absolute risk difference is relatively small (7.3% vs. 4.9%).

Aim: To determine the diagnostic value of serological infection markers and body temperature in discriminating complicated from uncomplicated diverticulitis., Methods: Patients in whom diverticulitis was pathologically or radiologically proven at presentation were included. Patients were classified as either complicated (Hinchey Ib, II, III and IV) or uncomplicated (Hinchey Ia) diverticulitis. The discriminative value of C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell (WBC) count and body temperature at presentation was tested., Results: A total of 426 patients were included in this study of which 364 (85%) presented with uncomplicated and 62 (15%) with complicated diverticulitis. Only CRP was of sufficient diagnostic value (area under the curve 0.715). The median CRP in patients with complicated diverticulitis was significantly higher than in patients with uncomplicated disease (224 mg/l, range 99-284 vs 87 mg/l, range 48-151). Patients with a CRP of 25 mg/l had a 15% chance of having complicated diverticulitis. This increased from 23% at a CRP value of 100 mg/l to 47% for 250 mg/l or higher. The optimal threshold was reached at 175 mg/l with a positive predictive value of 36%, negative predictive value of 92%, sensitivity of 61% and a specificity of 82%., Conclusion: WBC count and body temperature are of no value in discriminating complicated from uncomplicated diverticulitis. Only CRP can be used as an indicator for the presence of complications, but a low CRP does not mean that complicated disease can safely be excluded. Therefore, radiological examination remains central in the diagnostic work-up of patients presenting with diverticulitis., (© 2012 The Authors. Colorectal Disease © 2012 The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland.)

Background: Information on long-term outcome of patients treated conservatively for diverticular abscess is scarce. This study aims to compare diverticulitis patients with abscess to patients without abscess with regard to readmission, complications, and surgical treatment during a follow-up period of at least 12 months., Methods: A chart review of all patients admitted for a primary manifestation of diverticulitis between January 2005 and January 2011 was performed., Results: Fifty-nine patients with abscess and 663 without abscess were identified. Median follow-up was 28 months (range 12-103). Initial conservative management was achieved in 54 (91.5 %) patients with diverticular abscess and 635 (96.8 %) without abscess. Readmission occurred more frequently among patients with abscess (hazard ratio (HR) 2.6; confidence interval (CI) 1.51-4.33) with a first-year risk of 27.3 versus 10.7 % and second-year risk of 8.2 versus 4.6 %. Surgery was more frequently performed in patients with diverticular abscess (HR 2.3; CI 1.42-3.66). The first-year risk was 35.1 versus 16.6 % and second-year risk was 12.9 versus 2.4 %. The most frequent indication for surgery was persisting or recurrent disease., Conclusion: Patients with diverticular abscess have a higher risk of being readmitted and/or requiring surgical treatment. The pattern suggests that readmission and need for surgery are the results of an ongoing inflammation of the initial episode.

Background: Although the risks of elective resection for diverticular disease are well studied, studies on subjective improvement are scarce. This study aims to investigate subjective improvement., Methods: All patients who underwent elective resection for recurring or persisting complaints after an episode of diverticulitis were identified from an in-hospital database. Patients with at least 1 year of follow-up were sent visual analogue scales (VAS) to grade their quality of life (QoL) and the degree of discomfort caused by abdominal pain, abnormal defecation and fatigue before and after resection., Results: One hundred and five patients responded to the questionnaire (response rate 76.6%). The median follow-up was 33 (15-53) months. Elective resection improved general QoL (median VAS improvement 40) and reduced discomfort caused by abdominal pain (median VAS improvement 60) in up to 89.3 and 87.5% of patients, respectively. The effects of elective resection are less profound for discomfort caused by abnormal defecation (77.1%, median VAS improvement 33) and fatigue (75.2%, median VAS improvement 30)., Conclusion: Elective resection of the sigmoid for persisting or recurring symptoms after an episode of diverticulitis improves general QoL and discomfort caused by abdominal pain, abnormal defecation and fatigue in the vast majority of patients., (Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Purpose: Routine colonic evaluation is advised after an episode of diverticulitis to exclude colorectal cancer. In the recent years, the possible relation between diverticulitis and colorectal cancer has been subject of debate. The aim of this study is to evaluate the benefit of routine colonic endoscopy after an episode of diverticulitis., Methods: Records of all consecutive patients presenting with a radiologically confirmed episode of diverticulitis between 2007 and 2010 were retrieved from an in-hospital database. Patients who subsequently underwent colonic evaluation were included. The endoscopic detection rate of hyperplastic polyps, adenomas and advanced colonic neoplasia was assessed. Findings were categorized on the basis of the most advanced lesion identified., Results: Three hundred and seven patients presented with a radiologically confirmed primary episode of diverticulitis. Two hundred and five patients underwent colonic evaluation. Hyperplastic polyps were found in15 (6.8 %), adenomas in 18 (8.8 %) and advanced neoplastic lesions in 7 (3.4 %) patients. Only two patients had a colorectal malignancy., Conclusion: There appears to be no benefit in performing routine colonic evaluation after an episode of diverticulitis as the incidence of colorectal cancer is almost equal to that of the general population. A more selective approach might therefore be justified. Potentially, only patients with persisting abdominal complaints after an episode of diverticulitis should be offered colonic evaluation to definitively exclude causal pathology.

Diverticulitis is a common disease which, in the Netherlands, leads to approximately 13,500 hospitalizations annually. This figure represents merely 12% of actual cases encountered by general practitioners. The combined factors of older age, pain in the left lower abdomen which increases on movement, an elevated C-reactive protein level, the absence of vomiting and a prior episode of diverticulitis are highly predictive for this clinical diagnosis. This prediction model has been developed in secondary care centres. Its diagnostic value has yet to be proven in general practice.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to provide a systematic overview on both laparoscopic and conventional Hartmann reversal. Furthermore, the Hartmann procedure is reevaluated in the light of new emerging alternatives., Methods: Medline, Ovid, EMBASE, and Cochrane database were searched for studies reporting on outcomes after Hartmann reversal., Results: Thirty-five studies were included in this review of which 30 were retrospective. A total of 6,249 patients with a mean age of 60 years underwent Hartmann reversal. Two thirds of patients were classified as American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I-II. The mean reversal rate after a Hartmann procedure was 44%, and mean time interval between Hartmann procedure and Hartmann reversal was 7.5 months. The most frequent reported reasons for renouncing Hartmann reversal were high ASA classification and patients' refusal. The overall morbidity rate ranged from 3% to 50% (mean 16.3%) and mortality rate from 0% to 7.1% (mean 1%). Patients treated laparoscopically had a shorter hospital stay (6.9 vs. 10.7 days) and appeared to have lower mean morbidity rates compared to conventional surgery (12.2% vs. 20.3%)., Conclusion: Hartmann reversal carries a high risk on perioperative morbidity and mortality. The mean reversal rate is considerably low (44%). Laparoscopic reversal compares favorably to conventional; however, high level evidence is needed to determine whether it is superior.

In the Netherlands approximately 14,000 patients are referred to hospital for diverticular disease each year. Overall controversy persists about four aspects of treatment of the different stages of diverticulitis, i.e. the role of antibiotics in the treatment of mild diverticulitis, the question of whether elective surgical resection is justified in recurrent diverticulitis or in persisting abdominal symptoms after an episode of diverticulitis, the question of whether patients with purulent peritonitis due to perforation may be treated with laparoscopic peritoneal lavage instead of Hartmann's procedure, and finally, whether resection with a primary anastomosis is a feasible and safe alternative to Hartmann's procedure in the surgical treatment of Hinchey III or IV diverticulitis. These questions will be addressed in four upcoming Dutch randomised trials.