Gastroenterologie
a hepatologie

Diverticular disease of the large bowel – a new perspective on classification and therapy

Milan Lukáš ^{Orcid.org  1}

+ Affiliation
¹ IBD clinical and research centre ISCARE a.s., Prague, Czech Republic

Summary

Symptomatic, uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD) of the large bowel is the most frequent form of diverticular disease experienced by a gastroenterologist. This entity is clinically characterized by intermittent or long-term abdominal pain, excess bowel gas, flatulence, and irregular bowel movement. In some patients, SUDD can occur after a flare-up of acute diverticulitis but in other patients it can cause diverticulitis. The current therapy comprises lifestyle changes in diet, namely the ingestion of fiber rich food and intermittent therapy with antibiotics. A promising therapy seems to be intermittent therapy with the nonabsorbable antibiotic rifaximin.

Keywords

diverticular disease of the large bowel, diverticulitis, rifaximin

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