Active gastrointestinal diverticulum bleeding diagnosed by computed tomography angiography

Abstract

A diverticulum is a bulging sack in any portion of the gastrointestinal tract. Small intestine diverticular disease is much less common than colonic diverticular disease. The most common symptoms include non-specific epigastric pain and a bloating sensation. Major complications include diverticulitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, acute perforation, intestinal obstruction, intestinal perforation, localized abscess, malabsorption, anemia, volvulus and bacterial overgrowth. We report one case of massive jejunal diverticula bleeding and one case of massive colonic diverticula bleeding, both diagnosed by acute abdominal computed tomography angiography and treated successfully by surgery.

Keywords: Diverticulum; Gastrointestinal diverticular bleeding; Angiography; Computed tomography angiography; Endoscopy

Core tip: Gastrointestinal diverticular disease is common and asymptomatic in most cases; however, massive gastrointestinal bleeding caused by diverticular disease is rare. This article describes the diagnosis and management of these diseases through acute abdominal computed tomography angiography.