Treating acute diverticulitis in pre- and post-solid-organ transplant patients: a single-institution cohort study

Immunosuppressed patients are more likely to fail nonoperative management of acute diverticulitis and have more postoperative complications than the immunocompetent. Transplant recipients form a subcategory among the immunosuppressed with unique challenges. The aim of this work is to report 30-day postoperative complications after colectomy for acute diverticulitis and success rates of nonoperative management in pre- and post-transplant patients.

This is a retrospective cohort study at a single-institution tertiary referral centre. Patients with a history of acute diverticulitis were extracted from a database of 6152 recipients of solid-organ abdominal transplant between 2000 and 2015 and stratified by the index episode of diverticulitis: before or after solid-organ transplant surgery. Outcomes included 30-day postoperative complications and failure of nonoperative management.

Acute diverticulitis occurred in 93 patients, 69 (74%) posttransplant. Postcolectomy complications were higher posttransplant than pretransplant (43% vs. 13%, p = 0.04). Posttransplant status was not an independent risk factor for complications (odds ratio 3.59, 95% CI 0.79-16.31) when adjusting for sex and surgical acuity. Immediate urgent colectomy (29% vs. 31%, p = 0.84) and failure of nonoperative management (7% vs. 9%, p = 0.82) were similar. Complications occurred equally in those requiring urgent colectomy after nonoperative management and those undergoing immediate urgent colectomy.

Urgent colectomy rates are similar in solid-organ abdominal transplant recipients pre- and posttransplant. Posttransplant complication rates appear to be increased but transplant status as an independent factor is not significantly associated with an increased risk in this study cohort. These findings should be considered when counselling patients on the relative risks and benefits of surgical intervention for diverticulitis before versus after solid-organ transplantation.