Diverticular Disease

Introduction: Diverticular Disease

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

See full list of 19 symptoms of Diverticular Disease

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

See full list of 6 diagnostic tests for Diverticular Disease

Wrongly Diagnosed with Diverticular Disease?

• Misdiagnosis of Diverticular Disease
• Underlying causes of Diverticular Disease (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

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...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 digestive system contains a variety of "good"...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...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. food poisoning). In fact, it's more likely to be an infectious diarrheal...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed ...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 peptic ulcer, colon cancer, ...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...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Diverticular Disease

Causes of Diverticular Disease

• Low-fiber diet

Read more about 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

See full list of 19 treatments for Diverticular Disease

Videos for Diverticular Disease

Patient Surveys for Diverticular Disease

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Diverticular Disease
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Prognosis for Diverticular Disease

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)

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

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Diverticular Disease

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Diverticular Disease

See all guides and ebooks for Diverticular Disease

Stories from Users Related to Diverticular Disease

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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)