Diverticular disease

Diverticular disease
Endoscopic image of diverticulosis (showing two diverticula)
Specialty	Gastroenterology
Symptoms	Abdominal pain, bowel habit changes, nausea, vomiting
Causes	Diverticulosis
Diagnostic method	Abdominal imaging, white blood cell count, inflammatory markers, fecal calprotectin, colonoscopy and biopsy
Differential diagnosis	Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, colorectal cancer
Treatment	Antibiotics, antispasmodics, mesalamine, rifaximin, corticosteroids

Diverticular disease is when problems occur due to diverticulosis, a benign condition defined by the formation of pouches (diverticula) from weak spots in the wall of the large intestine.^[1] This disease spectrum includes diverticulitis, symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD), and segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis (SCAD).^[2] The most common symptoms across the disease spectrum are abdominal pain and bowel habit changes such as diarrhea or constipation. Otherwise, diverticulitis presents with systemic symptoms such as fever and elevated white blood cell count whereas SUDD and SCAD do not. Treatment ranges from conservative bowel rest to medications such as antibiotics, antispasmodics, acetaminophen, mesalamine, rifaximin, and corticosteroids depending on the specific conditions.