Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Abdomen, Colon, Gastrointestinal tract, CT, CT-High Resolution, Diagnostic procedure, Education, Diverticula
Authors:
D. Gutierrez, O. Chirife, M. pages, J. R. Ayuso, C. Ayuso; Barcelona/ES
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2013/C-0735
Background
Right colon diverticulitis (RCD) being a fairly uncommon disease in western countries (less tan 5% of the total cases of diverticulitis in published series)[1],
constituted until recent ages a frequently undiagnosed entity in the non surgical scenario.
In the past,
the majority of the patients with RCD faced surgical interventions under the presumptive diagnosis of acute appendicitis (RCD is commonly seen in younger patients compared with other locations of diverticular disease -37 year mean-) [2] posing unnecessary risks given that the current consensus advocate for a non surgical management of this pathology in the absence of complications (group 0 of the modified Hinchey classification of acute diverticulitis) [2].
Recent studies suggest a high possibility of correctly diagnosing this entity on the base of imaging studies including ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT),
differentiating it from other more common clinical entities such as acute appendicitis or colonic carcinoma in most cases [3].