Laboratory tests in primary care · by Dr Solange Déplanque and Dr Michaël Rochoy

Acute sigmoid diverticulitis (suspected, managed in the community)

Gastroenterology and hepatology · Symptom or situation · updated 2026-11-09

BioMG follows French guidelines. Adapt it to the guidelines and the tests available where you practise.

Frequency: Between 2013 and 2022, 2.25 million adults were hospitalised in France with a diagnosis of diverticulitis, a cumulative occurrence of 3.45% over 10 years [1].

Suspected acute diverticulitis

Laboratory tests (the same day)

Detailed explanation and international comparison (in French): read it in English (machine translation)

Do not order

After the episode

Detailed explanation and international comparison (in French): read it in English (machine translation)

Do not order

Sources (9)
  1. Saint-Dizier C, Hamel JF, Lamer A, Venara A, Levaillant M, Venara A. Acute diverticulitis requiring hospitalization according to regional discrepancies in France between 2013 and 2022: a nationwide study. Langenbecks Arch Surg 2024;409.
  2. Haute Autorité de santé. Prise en charge médicale et chirurgicale de la diverticulite colique. Synthèse de la recommandation de bonne pratique, novembre 2017.
  3. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Diverticular disease: diagnosis and management. NICE guideline NG147, novembre 2019 ; chapitre Recommendations, section 1.3.
  4. Laméris W, van Randen A, van Gulik TM, et al. A clinical decision rule to establish the diagnosis of acute diverticulitis at the emergency department. Dis Colon Rectum. 2010;53(6):896-904.
  5. Sartelli M, Weber DG, Kluger Y, et al. 2020 update of the WSES guidelines for the management of acute colonic diverticulitis in the emergency setting. World J Emerg Surg. 2020;15(1):32.
  6. Qaseem A, Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta I, Lin JS, Fitterman N, Shamliyan T, Wilt TJ ; Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians. Diagnosis and Management of Acute Left-Sided Colonic Diverticulitis: A Clinical Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med 2022;175(3):399-415.
  7. Peery AF, Strate LL, Stollman N, Mankaney G, et al. ACG Clinical Guideline: Colonic Diverticulitis. Am J Gastroenterol 2026;121(7):1549-1561.
  8. Hawkins AT, Bhama AR, Langenfeld SJ, Boutros M, Jafari MD, et al. The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Left-Sided Colonic Diverticulitis. Dis Colon Rectum 2026;69(10):2431-2450.
  9. Ichita C, Nagata N, Aoki T, Ishibashi F, et al. Guidelines for Colonic Diverticular Disease-2026, Second Edition: Management of Diverticular Bleeding and Acute Diverticulitis (Japanese Gastroenterological Association). Digestion 2026, publication en ligne du 16 octobre 2026.