Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is not decreased in symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease of the colon

In this letter, assessment of the amount of fecal Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD) is described. Among 44 consecutive patients, comprising 15 SUDD patients, 13 patients with asymptomatic diverticulosis (AD), and 16 healthy controls (HC), the fecal amount of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii was not found to be significantly different between HC, AD and SUDD subjects (p=0.871). Moreover, its count in the HC microbiota (-4.57 +/- 2.15) was lower compared with those in the AD (-4.11 +/- 1.03) and SUDD subjects (-4.03 +/- 1.299). This behavior seems to be different from that occurring in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and similar to that of other mucin-degrading species in a SUDD setting.

Automated summary

This study assessed the amount of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in fecal samples of patients with symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD). The results showed that there was no significant difference in the fecal amount of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii between healthy controls (HC), asymptomatic diverticulosis (AD) patients, and SUDD patients. However, the count of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the microbiota of HC was lower than that in AD and SUDD subjects. This behavior is different from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) but similar to other mucin-degrading species in the SUDD setting.