Journal of Gastrointestinal & Digestive System
Open Access

Review Article

Medical Management of “Uncomplicated” Colonic Diverticular Disease: A Review on Poorly Absorbed Antibiotics

Gastroenterology and Liver Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera San Filippo Neri, 00135 Rome, Italy

*Corresponding Author:

Virginia Festa
Gastroenterology and Liver Unit
Azienda Ospedaliera San Filippo Neri
Via Martinotti 20, 00135 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39-63-3062444
Fax: +39-63-3062641
E-mail: v.festa@sanfilipponeri.roma.it

Received date: March 11, 2014; Accepted date: April 28, 2014; Published date: May 05, 2014

Citation: Festa V, Bianchi M, Dezi A, Luchetti R, Koch M (2014) Medical Management of “Uncomplicated” Colonic Diverticular Disease: A Review on Poorly Absorbed Antibiotics. J Gastroint Dig Syst 4:195. doi:10.4172/2161-069X.1000195

Copyright: © 2014 Festa V, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the CreativeCommons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Diverticular disease of the colon is a common gastrointestinal disease. Although most patients remain asymptomatic for their whole life, about 20%-25% present symptoms related to “diverticular disease”. Current guidelines recommend only the use of high spectrum antibiotics in the initial treatment of acute diverticulitis. Several randomized trials suggest a role for a poorly absorbed antibiotic, such as rifaximin, in soothing symptoms and preventing complications such as diverticulitis. This review will highlight the role of long term administration of rifaximin in the treatment of symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease. The evidence suggests that rifaximin is effective for obtaining symptomatic relief and shows a positive trend in preventing complications.

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