Symptom patterns can distinguish diverticular disease from irritable bowel syndrome

Background Diverticular disease (DD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) share a similar symptom pattern. However, comparative studies are flawed by different age at onset of symptoms. We aimed to verify whether clinical features distinguish DD from IBS. Materials and methods Patients with DD or IBS, matched for age and gender (1/1) were consecutively recruited. Data on demographic parameters, voluptuary habits, inheritance of disease and symptoms were collected. Moreover, the association between pain >24h, and clinical parameters were evaluated. Results Ninety patients with DD and 90 patients with IBS (DD: F/M: 46/44; age: 50.9years; IBS: 46/44; 50.4) were selected from an overall population of 1275 patients. Only nine patients with DD (10%) fulfilled the criteria for IBS diagnosis. Abdominal pain >24h was more prevalent in SDD than in patients with IBS (20 vs. 6 patients; P<0 center dot 01). Furthermore, compared with IBS, patients with DD showed more episodes of pain >24h requiring medical attention (80% vs. 33%; P<0 center dot 01). Conclusions Abdominal pain lasting for more than 24h discriminates patients with DD compared with those with IBS. Identifying this symptom could be an appropriate strategy to define the diagnosis and management.