Colonic diverticulitis in young patients with chronic renal failure and transplantation

The association of colonic diverticulitis with chronic renal failure is well known. In those patients with "adult" autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, colonic diverticulitis is an especially common complication. We present two young patients (one teenager and one mid-twenties) who developed intra-abdominal abscess several years after renal transplantation. Neither patient had autosomal dominant polycystic disease nor a known history of gastrointestinal problems but both proved to have underlying, previously unsuspected colonic diverticular disease with abscess formation.