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Right-sided diverticulitis in a Western population

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International Journal of Colorectal Disease Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

While left-sided colonic diverticular disease is common in Western Caucasian populations, right-sided colonic disease (RCD) is rare. The present study aimed to determine the rate of RCD and to identify the symptoms, clinical features, treatment, and outcomes in a single medical center in Israel.

Methods

Data for this descriptive retrospective analysis were collected from the electronic medical records of all patients diagnosed with colonic diverticulitis from January 2014 to June 2019.

Results

During the study period, 1000 patients with diverticulitis were admitted to our institution, of which 99 had RCD (10%). Mean age was 50.2 years. The main presenting symptom was acute onset of right-sided abdominal pain. The diagnosis was made almost exclusively by computed tomography scan and the cecum was the most frequent site. The clinical course was benign, without major complications for most patients (90.1%). Nine patients presented with abscess (n = 1), covered perforation (n = 7), or partial obstruction (n = 1). All patients were treated with intravenous antibiotics with a median length of hospital stay of 3 days and a median 9 days of antibiotic treatment. Only 1 patient underwent diagnostic laparoscopy due to suspected intestinal perforation. Three patients experienced disease recurrence after a median follow-up of 48 months. Upon recovery, half of the patients underwent colonoscopy; no further pathology was found in any.

Conclusion

Unlike sigmoid colon diverticulitis, the incidence of RCD in Western populations is low. The clinical course is benign, with conservative treatment without the need for surgery. The complication and recurrence rates are low.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, AR, upon reasonable request.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Surgery A, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Sava, Israel

    Adi Rov, Anat Ben-Ari, Eyal Barlev, David Pelcman & Haim Paran

  2. Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Adi Rov, Anat Ben-Ari, Eyal Barlev, David Pelcman & Haim Paran

  3. Department of General Surgery, Assuta Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Sergio Susmalian

Authors
  1. Adi Rov
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  2. Anat Ben-Ari
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  3. Eyal Barlev
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  4. David Pelcman
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  5. Sergio Susmalian
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  6. Haim Paran
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Anat Ben-Ari, Eyal Barlev, David Pelcman, and Sergio Susmalian. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Adi Rov, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adi Rov.

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Ethics approval

This retrospective chart review study involving human participants was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee (MMC 05.11.2020). Informed consent was not required for this retrospective study. Patients’ identities were kept confidential using a coding scheme.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Rov, A., Ben-Ari, A., Barlev, E. et al. Right-sided diverticulitis in a Western population. Int J Colorectal Dis 37, 1251–1256 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-022-04135-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-022-04135-5

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