Ten Mistakes to Avoid: Diverticular Disease
Best practices for managing diverticulosis & diverticulitis — Based on Stollman N, MD, FACG (ACG/ASGE Best Practices Course 2026)
10 Mistakes
Your patients aren't
Diverticular disease is the 7th most searched topic on the ACG patient website (~78K pageviews/year) — behind only gastroenterologist lookups and diarrhea. Your patients are already searching. The question is whether your counseling is keeping up.
• 10% reported activity restrictions due to diverticulosis in prior 4 weeks
• Bowel function affected QoL in 66% of inpatients, 54% outpatients, 44% diverticulosis-only
• 37% were unaware they had diverticulosis
• Only 18% perceived their counseling as "comprehensive or acceptable"
Dalby HR et al. Colorectal Dis 2025;27(7):e70155
The Counseling Gap
82% of patients with diverticulosis do NOT feel they received adequate counseling. This is a major opportunity for gastroenterologists to improve patient education, reduce anxiety, and set realistic expectations.
>50%
Americans >60 have diverticulosis
<5%
Lifetime risk of acute diverticulitis
37%
Unaware they have it