Small bowel diverticula in elderly patients: a case report and review article

Abstract Background Small intestine diverticula are rare findings that were mostly reported in the elderly population as asymptomatic findings. However, they can also present with a wide range of symptoms (bloating, early satiety, chronic abdominal discomfort, and diarrhea/steatorrhea) or complicati...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marah Mansour, Yazan Abboud, Racha Bilal, Nour Seilin, Tamim Alsuliman, Fawaz K. Mohamed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2022-03-01
Series:BMC Surgery
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12893-022-01541-y
Description
Summary:Abstract Background Small intestine diverticula are rare findings that were mostly reported in the elderly population as asymptomatic findings. However, they can also present with a wide range of symptoms (bloating, early satiety, chronic abdominal discomfort, and diarrhea/steatorrhea) or complications (gastrointestinal bleeding, small bowel obstruction, acute diverticulitis, or perforation) which in turn warrant medical treatment or urgent surgical intervention. Case presentation This is a case report of an 84-year-old female who presented with an acute surgical abdomen. An exploratory laparotomy revealed complicated small bowel diverticula with a jejunal diverticulum perforation, for which a diverticulectomy was performed. Conclusions Throughout this paper, we are aiming to outweigh the consideration of the possibility of complicated small bowel diverticula as a differential in the evaluation of any acute abdomen, especially in the elderly, which warrants emergency surgical management.
ISSN:1471-2482