Diverticulosis among patients referred for barium enema studies at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, South Africa

Background: A possible increasing trend in the incidence of diverticulosis was observed in adult patients referred to the Diagnostic Radiology department of Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital (DGMAH), Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, for barium enema studies. The study will be the first to document the magnitude of this condition at our hospital since its inception. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the current prevalence of diverticulosis at DGMAH Ga-Rankuwa whose patients are predominantly South Africans of African descent. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the medical records of all adult patients referred to DGMAH for barium enema investigations for 1 year. Barium enema studies of 166 patients who met the inclusion criteria were systematically evaluated radiologically for the presence of diverticulosis. Data from the records were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 22.0) software program. Results: The patients' ages ranged between 18 and 95 years, with a mean age of 60.1 years. From the records analyzed, 77.7% were radiologically negative, whereas 22.3% were positive for diverticulosis. There was a female preponderance (23 cases [62.2%] among females versus 14 cases [37.8%] among males; P < 0.0001) and the diverticulosis had a diffused pattern. The increasing trend of diverticulosis observed at DGMAH did not reflect any statistically significant difference when compared with previous studies done in sub-Saharan Africa. Conclusion: This study demonstrates a possible trend of diverticulosis previously unrecorded in barium enema studies at DGMAH, probably attributable to the effects of urbanization and higher consumption of refined carbohydrate with low fiber residue.