Decrease seen in proportion with early-onset diverticulitis needing colectomy; increase seen in proportion needing interventional radiology
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Oct. 31, 2025 (HealthDay News) — From 2005 to 2020, there was an increase in the proportion of complicated diverticulitis-related hospital admissions among patients with early-onset diverticulitis, according to a study recently published online in Diseases of the Colon & Rectum.
Shineui Kim, from the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues examined national trends in hospitalizations, interventions, and outcomes for early-onset diverticulitis (age younger than 50 years) compared to standard-onset diverticulitis (age 50 years and older) in a retrospective cohort study involving a sample extracted from the National Inpatient Sample from 2005 to 2020.
From 2005 to 2020, 5,239,735 patients were nonelectively hospitalized for diverticulitis; 16 percent were early-onset. The researchers found that the proportion of the early-onset cohort admitted for complicated diverticulitis increased from 18.5 to 28.2 percent during the study period. A decline was seen in the proportion of early-onset patients needing a colectomy (34.7 to 20.3 percent), with an increase seen in the proportion needing interventional radiology (12.7 to 28.6 percent). Early-onset diverticulitis was associated with reduced odds of mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 0.18) compared with standard-onset and with decreased length of stay (β, −0.28 days) and hospitalization costs (β, −$1,900). Early-onset diverticulitis was also associated with increased odds of colectomy and percutaneous drainage (adjusted odds ratios, 1.29 and 1.58).
“While younger patients generally have better survival outcomes and shorter hospitalizations, they’re paradoxically more likely to need invasive interventions,” Kim said in a statement. “This suggests their disease may be more aggressive or that treatment approaches differ based on patient age and overall health status.”
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