Prospective, five-year follow-up study of patients with symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease

The natural history of diverticular disease is largely unknown. Most studies are retrospective and treatment recommendations are derived from outdated literature. This study was a prospective, long-term assessment of the development of complications in patients with symptomatic diverticular disease.

All patients with a confirmed diagnosis of symptomatic diverticular disease between August 1999 and April 2001 were followed up prospectively for an average of five years. Hospital computerized discharges were assessed for any subsequent elective or emergency admission for diverticular disease-related complications, including surgical intervention. A telephone questionnaire was conducted on all patients and/or their family physician looking specifically for symptoms, complications, and surgical intervention.

A total of 163 patients (106 females) were identified (median age, 74 (interquartile range, 64-80) years). The diagnosis was confirmed through colonoscopy (n = 106), flexible sigmoidoscopy (n = 57), and barium enema (n = 31). Nineteen were lost to follow-up and a further 19 died from unrelated causes. Twenty-five were excluded. After the initial diagnosis, two patients (1.7 percent) subsequently presented with an episode of diverticulitis, which was treated conservatively. A single patient (0.8 percent) required surgery for chronic symptoms. One hundred sixteen patients (97 percent) had no or mild symptoms after a median follow-up of 66 months.

In this prospective long-term study, symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease seems to run a long-term benign course with a very low incidence of subsequent complications. Symptomatic disease, acute diverticulitis, and complicated diverticular disease seem to constitute distinct clinical entities with little crossover between groups.