Yield of CT Scanning in Patients with Suspected Acute Diverticulitis

Computed tomography (CT) generally is the first-line imaging procedure to confirm diverticulitis. In this single-center study from Germany, researchers examined how often CT confirmed initially suspected leading diagnoses of acute diverticulitis in 1069 patients (mean age, 60). The investigators also sought to describe alternative diagnoses in patients whose CT scans and subsequent clinical evaluation did not confirm diverticulitis. Final clinical diagnoses were determined by chart review.

Acute diverticulitis was the final clinical diagnosis in 561 cases (53%). CT was considered to be falsely negative in only 5 cases and falsely positive in only 1 case. Alternative diagnoses were made in 40% of cases, and no diagnosis was made in 8% of case…