Transabdominal ultrasound for complicated diverticular disease

AIM: to evaluate the effectiveness of transabdominal ultrasound for complicated diverticular disease (CDD).PATIENTS AND METHODS: a retrospective study included 108 patients with CDD. All patients had left-sided diverticula, while in the vast majority of patients, diverticula were located in the sigmoid colon.RESULTS: transabdominal ultrasound was informative in 84.3% of patients; in 74.1% of cases (80 patients), diverticula were clearly identified with sizing, infiltration of the intestinal wall, fluid around the intestine, the presence of a fistulous tract in perforation, gas collections; 11 (10.2%) patients had indirect signs, such as diffuse hypoechogenic thickening of the intestinal wall, its infiltration, fistulous tract, liquid near the intestine, hyperechogenic structure of fat near the intestine, the presence of a paracolic abscess, absence or slowing down of peristalsis; 17 (15.7%) patients showed no changes, one had a false positive conclusion.CONCLUSION: transabdominal ultrasound is an informative and non-invasive method for diagnosing complicated diverticular disease in urgent surgery.