Clinical presentation of patients and distribution of colonic diverticula during colonoscopy at a Tertiary Hospital in south-west Nigeria

Abstract

Colonic diverticula disease is an acquired disease which affects adults and is frequently referred to as a western world disease. In Nigeria, studies on colonic diverticulosis are sparse and few of them are case reports. The aim was to describe the clinical presentation and distribution of colonic diverticulosis in patients who presented for colonoscopy.

This study was carried out at the endoscopy unit of the University College Hospital, Ibadan. All consecutive patients who were referred for colonoscopy and who were found to have colonic diverticula during the procedure were recruited into the study. The presence of one or more saccular outpouchings of the colon was described as colonic diverticulosis. The location and distribution of the diverticula within the colon were also described.

The results of 63 patients were analysed, comprising 40 (63.5%) males and 23 (36.5%) females, giving a male to female ratio of 1.7:1. The mean age of the patients was 63.5±11.4 years with a range of 31-91 years. Haematochezia was the most common symptom, followed by abdominal pain. The most frequent locations were the ascending and sigmoid colon in 35 (55.6%) and 33 (52.4%) patients respectively.

In conclusion, the most common symptom of colonic diverticulosis was haematochezia and the most common site was the ascending colon in our practice.

Keywords: Colonic Diverticula, Rectal diverticula, Haematochezia, Nigeria