Diverticulosis

Diverticulosis is a change in the colon in the form of small protuberances of the intestinal wall. These protuberances are spoken of false diverticula. False they are called, because, in contrast to the true diverticula only the mucosa and not the whole intestinal wall is everted.

Diverticulosis is common. Most patients are completely symptom free. It is often found as an incidental finding during a bowel examination ( colonoscopy ) in the elderly. As long as diverticulosis causes no symptoms, no treatment is necessary. A change of diet to a high fiber diet is recommended richer. However, If complications such as inflammation, diverticulitis, called or bleeding, treatment is necessary. Particularly in the case of repeated occurrence of such inflammation of the diverticula, surgical removal of the affected bowel part is recommended.

Causes

The exact cause of diverticular disease is still unclear. Perhaps the consistency of stool (especially hard stool ) plays due to a low-fiber diet a role by the colon is forced to spend more pressure during the passage of stool. This increased pressure could cause the sacs in the wall of the colon. Most diverticula are located in the sigmoid colon.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis is made either endoscopically or often as an incidental finding during a computed tomography of the abdomen.

Prevention

Whether one can prevent the diverticular disease is not established. A change in diet is generally recommended. The proportion of fiber rich / high-fiber, non- Flatulent foods should be increased. This makes the stool softer and can pass through the intestine more easily. If repeated inflammation or bottlenecks occur, the doctor will may recommend surgery to remove the affected part of the disease of the colon.

According to a prospective, observational study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ 2011; 343: d4131 ) to vegetarian diet proved to be - statistically significant - Protective even independent of a high-fiber diet. These were based on an analysis of the Oxford cohort of the EPIC study, with a population of 47,000 people. In this age cohort occurred within 11.6 years of follow-up to 812 inpatient hospital admissions for diverticulitis, among which were six deaths. The epidemiologist Francesco Crow by Oxford University had not only - as from the earlier " Health professionals follow-up " study known and expected - an inverse relation to the fiber content of the Eaten by. She found also that vegetarians suffer less frequently to 31 percent from a severe diverticulitis than meat eaters (RR 0.69; 0.55 to 0.86 ).

Treatment methods

Patients with diverticulosis have no symptoms in the rule, and then also do not require any treatment. A high-fiber diet with plenty of fluid is recommended. Therapeutically useful diet is the use of bran, for example, Wheat bran. Comparative studies have shown that bran particles of more than 1 mm in diameter to achieve the best effect. Treatment is necessary only when diverticulitis occurs.