Acute diverticulitis management: evolving trends among Italian surgeons. A survey of the Italian Society of Colorectal Surgery (SICCR)

Acute diverticulitis (AD) is associated with relevant morbidity/mortality and is increasing worldwide, thus becoming a major issue for national health systems. AD may be challenging, as clinical relevance varies widely, ranging from asymptomatic picture to life-threatening conditions, with continuously evolving diagnostic tools, classifications, and management. A 33-item-questionnaire was administered to residents and surgeons to analyze the actual clinical practice and to verify the real spread of recent recommendations, also by stratifying surgeons by experience. CT-scan remains the mainstay of AD assessment, including cases presenting with recurrent mild episodes or women of child-bearing age. Outpatient management of mild AD is slowly gaining acceptance. A conservative management is preferred in non-severe cases with extradigestive air or small/non-radiologically drainable abscesses. In severe cases, a laparoscopic approach is preferred, with a non-negligible number of surgeons confident in performing emergency complex procedures. Surgeons are seemingly aware of several options during emergency surgery for AD, since the rate of Hartmann procedures does not exceed 50% in most environments and damage control surgery is spreading in life-threatening cases. Quality of life and history of complicated AD are the main indications for delayed colectomy, which is mostly performed avoiding the proximal vessel ligation, mobilizing the splenic flexure and performing a colorectal anastomosis. ICG is spreading to check anastomotic stumps' vascularization. Differences between the two experience groups were found about the type of investigation to exclude colon cancer (considering the experience only in terms of number of colectomies performed), the size of the peritoneal abscess to be drained, practice of damage control surgery and the attitude towards colovesical fistula

Conservative Treatment of Hemorrhoidal Disease

Background: Hemorrhoids are vascular cushions underlying the distal rectal mucosa and contributing to approximately 15–20% of the resting anal pressure with a complete closure of the anal canal. They can become pathological (hemorrhoidal disease, HD) being the most common cause of painless rectal bleeding during defecation with or without prolapsing anal tissue. The treatment of HD must be tailored to both the severity of disease and patient’s expectation. Methods: A narrative review of all the most relevant papers present on the three major databases (PUBMED, EMBASE and WEB OF SCIENCE) regarding conservative treatment was conducted. Results: Conservative treatment is effective in managing the majority of patients complaining of early stages of the disease. Dietary and lifestyle modifications are the first therapeutic step necessary to achieve a regular defecation with soft stool whereas oral phlebotonic drugs can help to control symptoms. The use of topical medications, particularly during the acute phase or in the post-operative period can also be beneficial for all patients complaining of HD. Conclusion: Despite a large number of available products in the market and the high incidence of HD, very few randomized controlled trials have been carried out and most of the studies are uncontrolled case series. Larger and better designed studies are necessary to establish the real benefit of all types of drugs for the treatment of early stages of HD. </jats:sec