ACUTE DIVERTICULITIS UNDER AGE 40

Acute diverticulitis in the young is increasingly common and is not co nfined to a particular ethnic or socioeconomic group. The majority of cases are in men and occur in the fourth decade of life. Obesity is th e major comorbid condition. The disease appears to be an early manifes tation of that seen in the elderly based on identical anatomy and hist ology. The high incidence of surgical intervention and the high incide nce of emergent or urgent intervention, particularly following the ini tial attack, suggests that this manifestation is a more virulent form of the disease. Because of this, any patient under age 40 should under go resection following the first documented attack of acute diverticul itis.