Patients with end-stage renal disease were at an increased risk of hospitalization for acute diverticulitis

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) show a high incidence of bacterial translocation and impaired gastrointestinal motility. The intestinal tract is believed to be the most crucial source of translocated bacteria. To evaluate the risk of colonic diverticulitis in patients with ESRD, we conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study. Patients who met the following 3 criteria were defined as patients with ESRD: patients diagnosed with ESRD who received regular hemodialysis between 2000 and 2005, patients who received hemodialysis for more than 90% of the time during the observation period (2000–2011), and patients with no prior history of hemodialysis between 1997 and 1999. We matched every patient with ESRD with 1 matched control on the basis of propensity scores. The first diagnosis of diverticulitis (ICD-9-CM codes 562.11 and 562.13) within the follow-up period was defined as the primary endpoint. Hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the patients in the control group as the reference. We included 32,547 and 32,547 patients in the ESRD and matched control cohorts, respectively. The 12-year cumulative incidence of acute colonic diverticulitis for patients with ESRD was significantly higher than that for the controls (P < 0.001). After adjustment for age, sex, comorbidities, and medication use, the HR of acute colonic diverticulitis in the ESRD cohort was 11.20 times greater than that in the control cohort (95% CI: 8.14–15.42). The results indicated that patients with ESRD are at an increased risk for acute colonic diverticulitis.