EP762 - Patient Reported Outcomes For Older Adults With Diverticulitis: A Qualitative Study

Monday, May 12, 2025

1:47 PM – 1:52 PM PT

ePoster Presenter(s)

BC

Brian T. Cain, MD

Colorectal Surgery Fellow
University of Utah Medical Center
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.
This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Author(s)

Lauren E. McGuire, MD (she/her/hers)

General Surgery Resident
University of Utah
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
JJ

Jordan E. Johnson, MPH

Clinical Research Coordinator
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
TY

Tobi Yoon, n/a

Medical Student
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
KK

Kimberly A. Kaphingst, ScD

Professor
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
CJ

Cali E. Johnson, MD

Assistant Professor of Surgery
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
Ankit Sarin, MD MHA

Associate Professor and Chief of Colorectal Surgery
University of California Davis
Sacramento, California, United States

All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.
This individual has no relevant relationships with ineligible companies.
Emily Huang, MD

Assistant Professor
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States

All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.
This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.
JS

Julia T. Saraidaridis, MD, MMSc

Assistant Professor of Surgery, Tufts University School of Medicine
Lahey Clinic
Burlington, Massachusetts, United States

All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.
This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Senior Author(s)

Jessica Cohan, MD, MAS, FACS, FASCRS (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor of Surgery
University of Utah

All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.
This individual has no relevant relationships with ineligible companies.

All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.

Brian T. Cain, MD: This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Ankit Sarin, MD MHA: This individual has no relevant relationships with ineligible companies.

Emily Huang, MD: This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Julia T. Saraidaridis, MD, MMSc: This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Jessica Cohan, MD, MAS, FACS, FASCRS: This individual has no relevant relationships with ineligible companies.

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Purpose/Background: Diverticulitis is a common and complex condition with an incidence that increases with age. Increasingly, it is recommended that treatment decisions be patient-centered, however the outcomes most important to older patients remain poorly defined. We aimed to identify outcomes and treatment goals most important to older adults referred for surgical evaluation for diverticulitis.

Methods/Interventions: A prospective, multi-institutional qualitative study was performed that included adults greater than 65 years of age undergoing elective surgical evaluation for diverticulitis. Patients underwent semi-structured interviews eliciting their treatment goals and factors affecting treatment decisions. We performed a thematic analysis on the transcribed interviews.

Results/Outcomes: We interviewed 23 participants (56% female) with a median age of 71 years of age (IQR 69-75). The majority of participants were white (91.3%) and retired (69.5%). Eighteen of twenty-three participants (78.2%) reported ongoing symptoms of diverticulitis or symptoms of an acute diverticulitis attack within the past 6 months of their interview.

Overall, patients identified improvements in gastrointestinal symptoms including avoidance of pain and unpredictable bowel function as one of the primary measures of success in the treatment of diverticulitis. Prevention of diverticulitis recurrence was also identified as an important marker of treatment success. Patients identified social interactions with family and friends, as well as hobbies as central to their quality of life. Mitigating the impact of diverticulitis on these activities was an important factor in patients’ perception of successful treatment. Mental health concerns, specifically stress, anxiety, and fear related to the symptoms of diverticulitis and the impact of prior treatments, played a prominent role in how patients weighed treatment decisions. Patients expressed a fear of needing a stoma, yet concerns related to postoperative complications or surgery in general were uncommon.

Conclusion/Discussion: Older patients with diverticulitis emphasized improvements in gastrointestinal symptom management and avoidance of diverticulitis recurrence as central goals of their diverticulitis treatment plan. Participants emphasized the effect of diverticulitis on social interactions, leisure activities, and psychosocial stress as important determinants of quality of life. These findings may help guide shared decision-making with older patients and refine quality of life assessments for patients with diverticulitis.