Segmental colitis associated with diverticula: a 7-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS

We performed a long-term follow-up study of patients with segmental colitis associated with diverticula, in order to clarify the natural history of this disease.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We identified 15 patients who were diagnosed as having segmental colitis associated with diverticula during 1997. We assessed these patients by means of periodic follow-up visits from 1997 to 2004.

RESULTS

Eight of the 15 patients had no clinical recurrence during follow-up. Five patients had sporadic recurrences that were clinically mild (on average, one in 5 years), which responded to topical therapy and often to self-medication. Only two patients were diagnosed during the follow-up period as having Crohn's disease; notably, these were the only patients who did not have hematochezia as the main symptom at onset.

CONCLUSION

The course of this disease appears to be substantially benign.