What are the symptoms of diverticular disease?

General symptoms of uncomplicated diverticular disease

More than 80 per cent of patients do not have any symptoms and go through life unaware that they have diverticulosis. Diverticula are a common coincidental finding during investigations such as barium or colonoscopy examinations.
The presence of symptoms varies depending on the severity and extent of the disease. Symptoms that commonly occur in diverticular disease include:
• Episodic cramping pain, typically in the left, lower abdomen. Patients often find that passing stools or wind relieves the pain. Eating can aggravate the pain.
• Bloating.
• Change in bowel habit with constipation more common than diarrhoea.
• Fullness or lower left quadrant tenderness.
• Rectal bleeding.

What is the differential diagnosis?

• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Colon cancer
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Acute appendicitis
• Ischaemic colitis
• Gynaecological cause: pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cyst, ovarian torsion and ectopic pregnancy.
• Urological cause: urinary tract infection, urinary tract stones
• Haemorrhoids.