Diseases of the colon and rectum
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Multicenter Study
A clinical decision rule to establish the diagnosis of acute diverticulitis at the emergency department.
The aim of this study was to identify patients in whom the clinical diagnosis of diverticulitis can be made with a high certainty, distinguishing them from patients requiring imaging. ⋯ In a quarter of patients with suspected diverticulitis, the diagnosis can be made clinically based on a combination of direct tenderness only in the left lower quadrant, the absence of vomiting, and an elevated C-reactive protein. In patients without these features, imaging is required to reach adequate diagnostic accuracy.