Diverticulitis: management patterns in a community hospital.

I retrospectively reviewed a series of 402 patients treated for diverticulitis at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland. Patients were identified as medical or surgical, depending upon the service to which they were admitted. Patients aged 50 years or younger comprised 17.4% of the entire series and had no more severe or aggressive disease than older patients. Those in the medical series were older and had a lower operative rate, a higher rate of postoperative complications, and more bleeding. The total operative mortality was 4.7% and was essentially the same for both groups. Sepsis and immunosuppression can be particular hazards. Leukocytosis and fever were not reliable predictors of outcome.