Aphthous colitis in a woman with diverticulitis

S. Goulas, S. Karagiannis, D. Psilopoulos, P. Mikou, P. Bobotsi, C. Mavrogiannis

Authors S. Goulas, S. Karagiannis, D. Psilopoulos, P. Mikou, P. Bobotsi, C. Mavrogiannis.

Abstract

Diverticulitis is a well-established complication of diverticulosis.
Data regarding the endoscopic appearance of diverticulitis
are limited, as colonoscopy is generally contraindicated
during the acute attack, due to the increased risk
of complications, especially bowel perforation. Endoscopic
signs of inflammation in patients with diverticulosis are
limited to the segments having the diverticulae, with rectal
sparing, and appear in the literature as segmental colitis.
We report a case of a middle-aged woman with diverticulitis
who developed aphthous lesions in the rectum and sigmoid
a few days after the initiation of symptoms. Other
causes of aphthous lesions of the colonic mucosa (ie. Behcet
s disease, Crohn, ischemia, tuberculosis etc.) were
excluded. We suggest that the presence of aphthous lesions
should not be included in the setting of segmental colitis,
but should be considered as endoscopic signs of diverticulitis,
possibly caused by inflammation and ischemia.
Key words: Aphthae, aphthous colitis, diverticulitis, segmental
colitis associated with diverticulosis, Crohns disease.