Introduction
Diverticular disorder occurs when the lining of the intestine develops small bulges that with time become inflamed or infected. The Diverticular disease has three conditions that involve small sacks or pocket development in the lining of the intestine, formation of numerous tiny pockets, and the final condition is Diverticular bleeding.
The disease has two clinical forms which are diveticlusis where there is the presence of Diverticular, but there are no symptoms and diverticulitis in which the diverticula have been inflamed and can cause fatal obstruction. The disease is common to those members of the society who are ageing (Thistlethwaite,2008).
Causes
- Defect in the colon lining strength.
- Continuous use of diet with low fiber
- Pressure increases in the traluminal
Symptoms of Diverticular disorder
- An individual may experience lower abdominal pains
- At times infected persons have a feeling of being bloated
- The individual may have fever with body temperature of 380C
Pathophysiology
Diverticula are seen to result from high internal pressure on the weak lining of the colon where the blood vessels are highly concentrated at their entrance point. The next cause can be attributed to low fiber in the diet hence in turn the fecal residue is reduced, the lumen of the bowel become narrowed hence high intra abdominal pressure (Price,1992).
In diverticulitis undigested food and bacteria accumulate and are retained in Diverticular sac. The accumulation cut the supply of blood to the walls of the sacs. The wall of the sacs becomes more susceptible to attack by bacteria. The wall of the sacs becomes inflamed and perforation.
Treatment of Diverticular disease
A diet with high fiber can be given to the infected individual, and the use of paracetamol can be used to relieve pain. When the infection is not severe the use of antibiotic can be used as a treatment but if the case is serious infection patient may need to be treated in hospital (Nanda,2008). At times, surgery to remove the infected part is necessary if the disease has caused a serious complication.
Summary
Diverticular disease a digestive disease is common to the ageing adult and the main cause is weak colon lining and diet with low fiber. The major symptom of this infection is abdominal pain. The two clinical forms of the disease pathophysiology are that the infection can result from internal pressure in the abdomen or the accumulation of undigested food and bacteria in diverticular sacs. The Infection can be treated by taking diet with high fiber or the use of antibiotics.
Reference:
Price, S. A., & Wilson, L. M. (1992). Pathophysiology. Mosby.
Nanda, U., & Andresen, E. M. (2008). Health-Related Quality of Life A Guide for the Health Professional. Evaluation & the health professions, 21(2), 179-215.
Thistlethwaite, J. E., Davies, D., Ekeocha, S., Kidd, J. M., MacDougall, C., Matthews, P., & Clay, D. (2012). The effectiveness of case-based learning in health professional education. A BEME systematic review: BEME Guide No. 23. Medical teacher, 34(6), e421-e444.
