Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Surgery

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Neha Pathak, MD on September 16, 2021

• What Is Diverticulitis?
• What Are the Symptoms of Diverticulitis?
• What Causes Diverticulitis?
• What Are the Complications of Diverticulitis?
• How Is Diverticulitis Diagnosed?
• How Is Diverticulitis Treated?
• More

Diverticulitis is the infection or inflammation of pouches that can form in your intestines. These pouches are called diverticula.

The pouches generally aren’t harmful. They can show up anywhere in your intestines. If you have them, it’s called diverticulosis. If they become infected or inflamed, you have diverticulitis.

Sometimes, diverticulitis is minor. But it can also be severe, with a massive infection or perforation (your doctor will call it a rupture) of the bowel.

You can have the pouches and not know it. The diverticula are usually painless and cause few symptoms, if any. But you might notice:

• Cramping on the left side of your abdomen that goes away after you pass gas or have a bowel movement
• Bright red blood in your poop

Diverticulitis symptoms are more noticeable and include severe abdominal pain and fever.

Diverticulitis can be acute or chronic. With the acute form, you may have one or more severe attacks of infection and inflammation. In chronic diverticulitis, inflammation and infection may go down but never clear up completely. Over time, the inflammation can lead to a bowel obstruction, which may cause constipation, thin stools, diarrhea, bloating, and belly pain. If the obstruction continues, abdominal pain and tenderness will increase, and you may feel sick to your stomach or throw up.

Doctors aren’t sure. Some studies suggest that your genes might play a role.

The pouches on your intestines get inflamed or infected when they tear or become blocked by feces.

If you have more bad germs than good ones in your gut, that might cause it, too.

Your chances of getting diverticulitis rise with age. It’s more common in people over 40. Other risk factors include:

• Being overweight
• Smoking cigarettes
• Not getting enough exercise
• Eating lots of fat and red meat but not much fiber
• Taking certain kinds of drugs, including steroids, opioids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen or naproxen
   

If you don’t treat it, diverticulitis can lead to serious complications that require surgery:

• Abscesses, collections of pus from the infection, may form around the infected diverticula. If these go through the intestinal wall, you could get peritonitis. This infection can be fatal. You’ll need treatment right away.
• Perforation or tearing in the intestinal wall can lead to abscesses and infection because of waste leaking into the abdominal cavity.
• Scarring can lead to a stricture or blockage of the intestine.
• Fistulas can develop if an infected diverticulum reaches a nearby organ and forms a connection. This most often happens between the large intestine and the bladder. It can lead to a kidney infection. Fistulas can also form between the large intestine and either the skin or the vagina.
• Stricture, which happens when the colon narrows in the affected area.

If you have severe bleeding, you may need a blood transfusion.

The symptoms of diverticulitis can also look like other problems. Your doctor will narrow things down by ruling out other issues. They’ll start with a physical exam. Women may get a pelvic exam, too. Your doctor may then order one or more tests, including:

• Blood, urine, and stool tests to look for infection
• CT scans to look for inflamed or infected diverticula
• A liver enzyme test to rule out liver problems

If your diverticulitis is mild, your doctor will suggest rest and a liquid diet while your intestines heal. They might also give you antibiotics to treat the infection.

Your doctor may also suggest that you take a mild pain reliever like acetaminophen.

You may go on a liquid or “diverticulitis diet.” You’ll start by drinking only clear liquids, such as water, broth, non-pulpy juices, ice pops, and plain tea or coffee. As you start to feel better, you can add low-fiber foods such as eggs, yogurt, and cheese, and white rice and pasta. These foods are gentle on your digestive system.

This treatment works well for most people who have clear-cut cases of diverticulitis.

In more severe cases, you might need to stay in the hospital and take antibiotics that are intravenous (injected into your veins). If you have an abdominal abscess, your doctor will drain it. If your intestine is ruptured or you have peritonitis, you’ll need surgery.

There are two main types:

• Primary bowel resection. In this procedure, your surgeon will remove diseased parts of the intestine and reconnect the healthy sections. You can have normal bowel movements afterward.
• Bowel resection with colostomy. This needs to be done if there’s so much swelling that the surgeon can’t reconnect your colon to your rectum right away. Your doctor will create an opening in your abdominal wall so waste can flow into a bag. Surgeons can often reconnect the bowel after the inflammation has passed.

The kind of operation you need depends on the type of complication you have and how serious it is.
When you’re healed, your doctor might give you a colonoscopy to rule out colon cancer.

You can prevent diverticulosis and diverticulitis and their complications by eating plenty of fiber, drinking lots of water, and exercising regularly.

Top Picks

Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Surgery

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Neha Pathak, MD on September 16, 2021

• What Is Diverticulitis?
• What Are the Symptoms of Diverticulitis?
• What Causes Diverticulitis?
• What Are the Complications of Diverticulitis?
• How Is Diverticulitis Diagnosed?
• How Is Diverticulitis Treated?
• More

Diverticulitis is the infection or inflammation of pouches that can form in your intestines. These pouches are called diverticula.

The pouches generally aren’t harmful. They can show up anywhere in your intestines. If you have them, it’s called diverticulosis. If they become infected or inflamed, you have diverticulitis.

Sometimes, diverticulitis is minor. But it can also be severe, with a massive infection or perforation (your doctor will call it a rupture) of the bowel.

You can have the pouches and not know it. The diverticula are usually painless and cause few symptoms, if any. But you might notice:

• Cramping on the left side of your abdomen that goes away after you pass gas or have a bowel movement
• Bright red blood in your poop

Diverticulitis symptoms are more noticeable and include severe abdominal pain and fever.

Diverticulitis can be acute or chronic. With the acute form, you may have one or more severe attacks of infection and inflammation. In chronic diverticulitis, inflammation and infection may go down but never clear up completely. Over time, the inflammation can lead to a bowel obstruction, which may cause constipation, thin stools, diarrhea, bloating, and belly pain. If the obstruction continues, abdominal pain and tenderness will increase, and you may feel sick to your stomach or throw up.

Doctors aren’t sure. Some studies suggest that your genes might play a role.

The pouches on your intestines get inflamed or infected when they tear or become blocked by feces.

If you have more bad germs than good ones in your gut, that might cause it, too.

Your chances of getting diverticulitis rise with age. It’s more common in people over 40. Other risk factors include:

• Being overweight
• Smoking cigarettes
• Not getting enough exercise
• Eating lots of fat and red meat but not much fiber
• Taking certain kinds of drugs, including steroids, opioids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen or naproxen
   

If you don’t treat it, diverticulitis can lead to serious complications that require surgery:

• Abscesses, collections of pus from the infection, may form around the infected diverticula. If these go through the intestinal wall, you could get peritonitis. This infection can be fatal. You’ll need treatment right away.
• Perforation or tearing in the intestinal wall can lead to abscesses and infection because of waste leaking into the abdominal cavity.
• Scarring can lead to a stricture or blockage of the intestine.
• Fistulas can develop if an infected diverticulum reaches a nearby organ and forms a connection. This most often happens between the large intestine and the bladder. It can lead to a kidney infection. Fistulas can also form between the large intestine and either the skin or the vagina.
• Stricture, which happens when the colon narrows in the affected area.

If you have severe bleeding, you may need a blood transfusion.

The symptoms of diverticulitis can also look like other problems. Your doctor will narrow things down by ruling out other issues. They’ll start with a physical exam. Women may get a pelvic exam, too. Your doctor may then order one or more tests, including:

• Blood, urine, and stool tests to look for infection
• CT scans to look for inflamed or infected diverticula
• A liver enzyme test to rule out liver problems

If your diverticulitis is mild, your doctor will suggest rest and a liquid diet while your intestines heal. They might also give you antibiotics to treat the infection.

Your doctor may also suggest that you take a mild pain reliever like acetaminophen.

You may go on a liquid or “diverticulitis diet.” You’ll start by drinking only clear liquids, such as water, broth, non-pulpy juices, ice pops, and plain tea or coffee. As you start to feel better, you can add low-fiber foods such as eggs, yogurt, and cheese, and white rice and pasta. These foods are gentle on your digestive system.

This treatment works well for most people who have clear-cut cases of diverticulitis.

In more severe cases, you might need to stay in the hospital and take antibiotics that are intravenous (injected into your veins). If you have an abdominal abscess, your doctor will drain it. If your intestine is ruptured or you have peritonitis, you’ll need surgery.

There are two main types:

• Primary bowel resection. In this procedure, your surgeon will remove diseased parts of the intestine and reconnect the healthy sections. You can have normal bowel movements afterward.
• Bowel resection with colostomy. This needs to be done if there’s so much swelling that the surgeon can’t reconnect your colon to your rectum right away. Your doctor will create an opening in your abdominal wall so waste can flow into a bag. Surgeons can often reconnect the bowel after the inflammation has passed.

The kind of operation you need depends on the type of complication you have and how serious it is.
When you’re healed, your doctor might give you a colonoscopy to rule out colon cancer.

You can prevent diverticulosis and diverticulitis and their complications by eating plenty of fiber, drinking lots of water, and exercising regularly.

Top Picks

Medical portal for doctors uMEDp

Medical portal for doctors uMEDp

Medical portal for doctors

Please log in:

The page you requested was not found

Sorry, an error occurred while processing your request. The page may be outdated or has been moved.

To umedp.ru homepage

History

Distance learning

Professional retraining

Vocational training

Master classes

Training of teachers, educators

Public education

June 5 – World Environment Day

May 12 – International nurse’s day 2023

May 9 – Victory Day 2023

May 1 – Spring and Labor Day 2023

April 7 – World Health Day

March 8 – International Women’s Day

Our institution began its history in 1988, when the Rostov Regional School for Advanced Training of Workers with Secondary Medical and Pharmaceutical Education was established in the Rostov Region. In accordance with the ever-growing requirements of practical healthcare to the level and quality of training of specialists, the material and technical base and educational and methodological support of the school developed dynamically.

In 2004, the ROUPK was renamed into the state educational institution of additional professional education “Center for advanced training of specialists with secondary medical and pharmaceutical education” of the Rostov region, and in 2011 – into the state budgetary educational institution of additional professional education of the Rostov region “Center for advanced training of specialists with secondary medical and pharmaceutical education”

Currently, the center is a large educational institution in the South of Russia, with an educational building with an area of ​​1571 sq.m. and strong material and technical base.

The head of the advanced training center is the Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation Dimitrova L.V.

The purpose of the center is to provide educational services for advanced training at a modern and high quality level. Over 8,000 specialists in 32 specialties study at the center every year.

Created conditions for the provision of educational services:

• advanced material and technical base,
• team with high creative potential,
• modern pedagogical and health-saving technologies in education.

The educational process is being actively modernized:

• A unified information environment of the center has been formed
• Transition to multimedia technology 9 completed0017

Multimedia equipment for the lesson (using an interactive whiteboard, document camera, etc.)	In the emergency medicine class, trainees work with the training computer program for cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Computerized final testing of students is carried out	Multimedia presentations are in the arsenal of every teacher. Example: developments of Garlikov N.N.

The achievement of our center is the introduction of the latest developments in the educational process:

• In the field of safety of the professional environment of medical workers

• In training students in the section “Ambulance and emergency care”

• Nursing technology

Our contribution to the implementation of the Priority National Project “Health” goes in the following directions:

• Formation of a healthy lifestyle

In order to achieve the best results in this area, a study room “Health” was opened

Competitions are held among students for the best creative work to promote a healthy lifestyle

• Improving the provision of medical care to victims of traffic accidents

113 specialists trained to provide assistance to victims on the Federal Highway M-4

• Improving medical care for patients with cardiovascular diseases

422 specialists trained to work in new vascular centers for minimally invasive surgery and cardiosurgical departments

Particular attention is paid to cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross in the North Caucasus

74 medical workers have studied for five years of cooperation.