Predictive score for diagnosing acute colonic diverticulitis in the emergency department: a retrospective study

Acute diverticulitis is commonly misdiagnosed among patients with acute abdominal pain in the emergency department (ED). There are predictive scores that assist in the diagnosis of acute left-sided diverticulitis, but no scoring system is available for diagnosing acute diverticulitis without regard to the affected side. Therefore, developing a predictive score for diagnosing acute diverticulitis that is not limited to the left side will guide physicians in making a diagnosis and increase the appropriateness of computed tomography. This study aimed to establish a predictive score for diagnosing acute diverticulitis.

This single-centre retrospective study included adult patients (≥ 18 years) who presented to the ED with acute abdominal pain. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify essential factors for diagnosing acute diverticulitis, and the Akaike information criterion was calculated to identify significant predictive factors for diagnosing acute diverticulitis using a clinical scoring system.

Of 424 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 72 (17%) were diagnosed with acute diverticulitis. The significant factors associated with acute diverticulitis were age ≥ 60 years (adjusted odds ratio (adj.OR) 2.23, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20 − 4.14, p = 0.01), duration of abdominal pain ≥ 48 h (adj.OR 2.64, 95% CI: 1.28 − 5.45, p = 0.017), history of a diverticulum (adj.OR 7.77, 95% CI: 3.27 − 18.45, p < 0.001), absence of nausea and vomiting (adj.OR 3.42, 95% CI: 1.65 − 7.10, p < 0.001), absence of anorexia (adj.OR 3.33, 95% CI: 1.34 − 8.33, p = 0.026), absence of tachycardia (adj.OR 3.51, 95% CI: 1.39 − 8.87, p = 0.003), and abdominal guarding (adj.OR 2.99, 95% CI: 1.52 − 5.91, p = 0.002). These predictive factors were converted into predictive scores for diagnosing acute diverticulitis. For the score of ≥ 4, the sensitivity and specificity were 73.24% (95% CI: 0.61–0.83) and 80.40% (95% CI: 0.76–0.84), respectively, and the negative predictive value was 93.71% (95% CI: 0.90–0.96). No significant signs, symptoms, or laboratory findings were associated with complicated diverticulitis.

Predictive factors for diagnosing acute diverticulitis included age ≥ 60 years, duration of abdominal pain ≥ 48 h, history of a diverticulum, abdominal guarding, and absence of nausea and vomiting, anorexia, and tachycardia. A predictive score ≥ 4 suggested the presence of acute diverticulitis.