• Rosario Cuomo, Giovanni Barbara, Paolo Andreozzi, Gabrio Bassotti, Tino Casetti, Mario Grassini, Enzo Ierardi, Giovanni Maconi, Santino Marchi, Giovanni Sarnelli, Vincenzo Savarino, Paolo Usai, Letizia Vozzella, and Bruno Annibale.
• Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, 'Federico II' University, Naples, Italy.
• Eur. J. Clin. Invest. 2013 Nov 1; 43 (11): 1147-55.

BackgroundDiverticular disease (DD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) share a similar symptom pattern. However, comparative studies are flawed by different age at onset of symptoms. We aimed to verify whether clinical features distinguish DD from IBS.Materials And MethodsPatients with DD or IBS, matched for age and gender (1/1) were consecutively recruited. Data on demographic parameters, voluptuary habits, inheritance of disease and symptoms were collected. Moreover, the association between pain > 24 h, and clinical parameters were evaluated.ResultsNinety patients with DD and 90 patients with IBS (DD: F/M: 46/44; age: 50.9 years; IBS: 46/44; 50.4) were selected from an overall population of 1275 patients. Only nine patients with DD (10%) fulfilled the criteria for IBS diagnosis. Abdominal pain > 24 h was more prevalent in SDD than in patients with IBS (20 vs. 6 patients; P < 0.01). Furthermore, compared with IBS, patients with DD showed more episodes of pain > 24 h requiring medical attention (80% vs. 33%; P < 0.01).ConclusionsAbdominal pain lasting for more than 24 h discriminates patients with DD compared with those with IBS. Identifying this symptom could be an appropriate strategy to define the diagnosis and management.© 2013 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

26 keywords...

hide…