[Efficacy of low dose mesalazine (5-ASA) in the treatment of acute inflammation and prevention of complications in patients with symptomatic diverticular disease. Preliminary results]. / Efficacia della mesalazina (5-ASA) a basse dosi nel trattamento della flogosi acuta e nella prevenzione delle complicanze in pazienti con malattia diverticolare sintomatica. Risultati preliminari.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: To assess the efficacy of mesalazine in treating acute diverticulitis and preventing diverticular disease (DD) complication. 166 patients with symptomatic DD were randomly assigned to receive mesalazine Pentacol (400 mg b.i.d., orally; M group) or no additional treatment (controls; C group). RESULTS: After a 12 months follow-up, 26 patients experienced a symptomatic relapse (8%M vs 27% C, p=0.003), with a higher rate in C group for the patients with a history of previous diverticulitis (p=0.006) and independently of the diverticular site (sigmoid p=0.041; colon and sigmoid p=0.044). Minor diverticular haemorrhages were less frequent in M group (p=0.016), with a significant difference only for the patients with sigmoid diverticula (p=0.023); abdominal pain persisted for a shorter time in the treated group (p=0.0015). CONCLUSIONS: No significant difference was found between the two groups for the incidence of DD major complications.