Diverticular Disease

Diverticular Disease: Introduction

Diverticular disease includes both "diverticulosis" which is just protrusion of the colon wall, and "diverticulitis" which is actual inflammation or infection of these protrusions.

Symptoms of Diverticular Disease

• Symptoms of mild conditions (such as "diverticulosis" without infection):
  • No symptoms
  • Mild abdominal cramps
  • Bloating
  • Constipation
• more symptoms...»

See full list of 25 symptoms of Diverticular Disease

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Diverticular Disease:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests
• Food Allergies & Intolerances: Home Testing:
  • Home Food Allergy Tests
  • Home Food Intolerance Testing
  • Home Water Testing
  • Home Lead Poisoning Tests
  • Home Heavy Metal Poisoning Tests
• Digestive-Related Home Testing:
  • Home Stomach Ulcer Tests
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Test Kits
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Test Kits
• more tests...»

Diverticular Disease: Complications

Review possible medical complications related to Diverticular Disease:

• Intestinal infections (see Digestive symptoms)
• Colon perforations (see Bowel problems)
• Intestinal blockage
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Colon abscess (type of Abscess)
• more complications...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Diverticular Disease

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Diverticular Disease

• Medical history
• Physical exam
• Digital rectal exam
• Stool analysis
• Blood tests
• more tests...»

See full list of 6 diagnostic tests for Diverticular Disease

Wrongly Diagnosed with Diverticular Disease?

• Misdiagnosis of Diverticular Disease
• Failure to diagnose Diverticular Disease
• Hidden causes of Diverticular Disease (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Undiagnosed: Diverticular Disease

Diverticular Disease: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Diverticular Disease:

• Digestive Health
• more product offers...»

Diverticular Disease: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders that can remain Undiagnosed:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Celiac Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Heartburn -- Undiagnosed
  • GERD -- Undiagnosed
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Pancreatitis -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Diverticular Disease

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known, irritable bowel syndrome, is over-diagnosed,...read more »

Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called intestinal imbalance. The...read more »

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off not only "bad" bacteria, but can also kill the "good" bacteria in the...read more »

Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's "something I ate" (i.e...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain...read more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a malabsorption disorder with a...read more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of the better known possibilities are ...read more »

Abdominal pain in the elderly: Abdominal pain in the elderly could be due to a wide range of diseases. The most common ones that have to be kept in mind in order not to miss the diagnosis...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Diverticular Disease

Diverticular Disease: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Digestive Health Specialists (Gastroenterology):
  • Gastroenterology (Digestive Specialists)
  • Pediatric Gastroenterology (Child Digestive Health)
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Diverticular Disease

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Diverticular Disease:

• Digestive Health (Gastroenterology) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Diverticular Disease, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Outstanding Patient Experinece Award Winning Hospitals
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Diverticular Disease: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders -- Rare Types:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Rare Types
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Rare Types
  • Celiac Disease -- Rare Types
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Rare Types
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Pancreatitis -- Rare Types
  • Gallstones -- Rare Types
  • Lactose Intolerance -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Diverticular Disease

• Low-fiber diet
• Low-fibre diet
• Increased pressure
• Lack of exercise
• Constipation
• more causes...»

See full list of 13 causes of Diverticular Disease

More information about causes of Diverticular Disease:

• Underlying causes of Diverticular Disease
• Diverticular Disease as a complication caused by other conditions
• Diverticular Disease as a symptom

Treatments for Diverticular Disease

• Treatments to prevent diverticulitis:
  • High-fiber diet
• Antibiotics
• Intravenous antibiotics
• Bed rest
• more treatments...»

See full list of 22 treatments for Diverticular Disease

Latest Treatments for Diverticular Disease

• Fiber supplements
• Stool softeners
• IV antibiotics
• IV fluids
• Analgesics
• more treatments...»

See full list of 18 latest treatments for Diverticular Disease

News Archives for Diverticular Disease

Medical news articles related to Diverticular Disease include:

• Uninsured Face Worse Outcomes After Diverticulitis
• Nuts, Seeds, Popcorn Don't Boost Diverticulosis Risk
• more health news...»

Source: HealthDay News

Evidence Based Medicine Research for Diverticular Disease

Medical research articles related to Diverticular Disease include:

• Laparoscopic sigmoid resection for diverticulitis decreases major morbidity rates: a randomized control trial: short-term results of the Sigma Trial
• Incidence of perforated diverticulitis and risk factors for death in a UK population
• What proportion of otherwise well elderly men with visible haemorrhoids on proctoscopy and recurrent fresh rectal bleeding also have a bowel malignancy?
• Diverticular disease
• Methylnaltrexone
• more research...»

Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database

Videos for Diverticular Disease

Patient Surveys for Diverticular Disease

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Diverticular Disease
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Diverticular Disease

Prognosis for Diverticular Disease: Eating a high-fiber diet, getting plenty of fluid, and exercising regularly may help prevent diverticulosis.

More about prognosis of Diverticular Disease

Reseach about Diverticular Disease

Visit our research pages for current research about Diverticular Disease treatments.

Clinical Trials for Diverticular Disease

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Diverticular Disease include:

• Study to Evaluate the Duration of Treatment With Ertapenem in Acute Attacks of Sigmoid Diverticulitis - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - ertapenem
• Study Comparing Tigecycline Versus Ceftriaxone Sodium Plus Metronidazole in Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infection - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Tigecycline,Ceftriaxone sodium + metronidazole
• Study Comparing Tigecycline Versus Ceftriaxone Sodium Plus Metronidazole in Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infection (cIAI) - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - tigecycline,ceftriaxone,metronidazole
• Study to Evaluate the Duration of Treatment With Ertapenem in Acute Attacks of Sigmoid Diverticulitis - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - ertapenem
• Database and Registry for Renal Diverticulum - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• more trials...»

Read more about Clinical Trials for Diverticular Disease

Statistics for Diverticular Disease

• Medical statistics for Diverticular Disease
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Diverticular Disease
• Death and Mortality statistics for Diverticular Disease
• Society statistics for Diverticular Disease

Diverticular Disease: Broader Related Topics

• Bowel conditions
• Colon conditions
• more types...»

Types of Diverticular Disease

Stories from Users Related to Diverticular Disease

• can colonoscopy cause diverticulitis
• Help - Diverticulitis
• Dianosis:diverticulitis
• Diverticular Bleeding
• Diverticular Bleeding
• Help - Diverticulitis

Related forums and medical stories:

• Colon Conditions (35)
  • Living without an ascending colon?
  • can colonoscopy cause diverticulitis
  • Constipation, gas, bloating, pain
  • Mucus in Stool
  • bleeding from anus
  • More user stories

User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Diverticular Disease, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Diverticular Disease

Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis: NIDDK (Excerpt)

Many people have small pouches in their colons that bulge outward through weak spots, like an inner tube that pokes through weak places in a tire. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. Pouches (plural) are called diverticula. The condition of having diverticula is called diverticulosis. (Source: excerpt from Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis: NIDDK)

Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis: NIDDK (Excerpt)

When the pouches become infected or inflamed, the condition is called diverticulitis. This happens in 10 to 25 percent of people with diverticulosis. (Source: excerpt from Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis: NIDDK)

Definitions of Diverticular Disease:

A pathological condition characterized by the presence of a number of COLONIC DIVERTICULA in the COLON. Its pathogenesis is multifactorial, including colon aging, motor dysfunction, increases in intraluminal pressure, and lack of dietary fibers. - (Source - Diseases Database)

Inflammation of a diverticulum in the digestive tract (especially the colon); characterized by painful abdominal cramping and fever and constipation - (Source - WordNet 2.1)