Abdominal Pain in an Elderly Man Secondary to Giant Sigmoid Diverticula

The patient is a 93-year-old man with symptoms of diffuse abdominal pain, liquid diarrhea and vomiting over the previous 2 weeks. On examination, the patient presented a soft abdomen, with mild discomfort in the hypogastrium. Blood work revealed leukocyte levels of 15 000/μl and PCR 6 mg/dl. CT scan showed a large sigmoid diverticulum measuring 9.5×5.6 cm in the lower pelvis, with an air-fluid level, fecaloid content and inflammatory involvement of the adjacent fat, suggestive of acute diverticulitis (Figs. 1 and 2). The patient was hospitalized for medical treatment with intravenous antibiotics, with a favorable progress, so the patient was discharged seven days later.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2