1. Take the Tummy Trouble Quiz
2. Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures
3. Heartburn? Foods to Eat, Foods to Avoid Slideshow

Medical Author:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Medical Editor:

Bhupinder Anand, MD

Most people recover fully after treatment. If not treated promptly, however, diverticulitis can lead to the following more serious conditions:

• Perforation: A hole in the intestine caused when the diverticular pouch bursts because of increased pressure and infection within the intestine.
  
  
• Peritonitis: A more serious infection of the abdominal cavity that often occurs after perforation, when the contents of the intestine leak out into the abdominal cavity (peritoneum) outside of the intestine.
  
  
• Abscess: A pocket of infection that is very difficult to cure with antibiotics.
  
  
• Fistula: An abnormal connection between the colon and another organ that occurs when the colon damaged by infection comes in contact with another tissue, such as the bladder, the small intestine, or the inside of the abdominal wall, and sticks to it. Fecal material from the colon can then get into the other tissue. This often causes a severe infection. If fecal material gets into the bladder, for example, the resulting urinary tract infection can become recurrent and very difficult to cure.
  
  
• Blockage or obstruction of the intestine
  
  
• Bleeding in the intestine

Individuals younger than 40 years of age who have depressed immune systems from medications or other illnesses have a greater chance of having complications and having to undergo surgery.

Approximately one-half of people who have diverticulitis will have a relapse within seven years after the condition is treated and in remission.

Of the people who are admitted to a hospital for diverticulitis, 15% to 25% develop complications that require surgery.

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