Surgery for diverticulitis in renal failure

Twenty-five patients were operated on at the Brigham and Women's Hospital for colonic diverticulitis complicating treated renal failure during the period 1951 to 1983. Twelve patients had functioning renal allografts (eight cadaver, four living-related); 13 were on dialysis therapy. Six patients had polycystic kidney disease. The majority of patients had acute abdominal pain. Four had histories of chronic abdominal pain; nondiagnostic exploratory laparotomies were performed on two of these patients, who developed localized tenderness. The overall mortality in this series was 28 percent, with sepsis being the most common cause of death. Six of seven patients who died had free colonic perforations at surgery. Mortality correlated with age, with six of 14 patients (43 percent) over age 50 dying, as compared with one of 11 patients (9 percent) under age 50. There was no correlation between survival rate and type of surgery performed, dose of prednisone or azathioprine used, or type of treatment received for renal failure.