Condition

Diverticulitis

Inflammation or infection of pouches in the digestive tract

200M
People Affected
45
Active Trials
10M
New Cases/Year
15K
Deaths/Year

Treatment Rankings

Ranked by evidence volume first. Medicine has spent centuries ranking things by vibes. This is an improvement.

1
Conservative Management (Bowel Rest/Clear Liquid Diet)
90% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 95% Safety• 50 trials• 10K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: Clear liquids only, then low-fiber solids gradually
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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Meth💀
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95
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days

Duration

2-4 days (liquid diet) then gradual reintroduction

Response Rate

85%

Remission Rate

80%

Common Side Effects:

Hunger: 80%
Mild fatigue: 30%
Headache (from reduced caffeine/sugar intake): 15%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$0

Monitoring

$200

Side Effects

$0

Total Annual

$200

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.08

Cost per Remission

$250

Cost per Responder

$235

Treatment Outcomes
Efficacy Outcomes
Overall Effectiveness
+90%
Response Rate
+85%
Remission Rate
+80%
Common Side Effects
Hunger
+80%
Mild fatigue
+30%
Headache (from reduced caffeine/sugar intake)
+15%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
2
Oral Antibiotics (e.g., Ciprofloxacin + Metronidazole)
80% Effectiveness• 85% Confidence• 70% Safety• 1 trials• 50K participants
HIGH EvidencePoor ValueDose: Ciprofloxacin 500mg BID + Metronidazole 500mg TID
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
70
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days

Duration

7-10 days

Response Rate

90%

Remission Rate

85%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

10

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

15

Common Side Effects:

Diarrhea: 15%
Nausea: 8%
Metallic taste (Metronidazole): 25%
Tendonitis (Ciprofloxacin, rare): 0.5%
Clostridioides difficile infection: 2%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$75

Monitoring

$250

Side Effects

$75

Total Annual

$400

Cost-Effectiveness

POOR

QALYs Gained

0.05

ICER

$150,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$471

Cost per Responder

$444

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Abdominal Pain Severity7/10 on Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)
-71.4% (-5 points on NRS)
Body Temperature38.5 °C
-3.9% (-1.5 °C)
White Blood Cell Count15.0 x 10^9/L
-46.7% (-7.0 x 10^9/L)
C-reactive Protein (CRP)80 mg/L
-87.5% (-70 mg/L)
Secondary Benefits
Quality of Life (EQ-5D Visual Analogue Scale)60/100 on EQ-VAS
+33.3% (+20 points)
Diverticulitis Symptom Severity Score20/30 on composite scale
-50% (-10 points)
Time to Tolerating Normal Diet5 days
-60% (-3 days)
Common Side Effects
Diarrhea
+15%
Nausea
+8%
Metallic taste (Metronidazole)
+25%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
3
Elective Colectomy
95% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 50% Safety• 5 trials• 15K participants
MODERATE EvidenceGood ValueDose: N/A
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
50
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

Immediate prevention (recovery 4-8 weeks)

Duration

One-time procedure

Response Rate

95%

Remission Rate

%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

3

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

15

Common Side Effects:

Surgical site infection: 10%
Anastomotic leak: 2%
Post-operative ileus: 7%
Hernia (long-term): 8%
Changes in bowel habits: 30%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$0

Monitoring

$2,500

Side Effects

$500

Total Annual

$3,000

Cost-Effectiveness

GOOD

QALYs Gained

0.8

ICER

$55,000/QALY

Cost per Responder

$3,158

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Acute Diverticulitis Episodes2.5 episodes per year
-92% (-2.3 episodes per year)
Chronic Abdominal Pain Intensity (NRS score)NRS score 6.5/10
-60% (-3.9 points on NRS)
Diverticulitis-related Hospitalizations0.8 hospitalizations per year
-95% (-0.76 hospitalizations per year)
Secondary Benefits
Health-Related Quality of Life (SF-36 PCS)SF-36 PCS score 40/100
+12.5% (+5 points)
Daily Symptomatic Medication Use (doses per week)4 doses per week
-80% (-3.2 doses per week)
Work/Daily Activity Impairment (scale 0-10)5/10
-50% (-2.5 points)
Common Side Effects
Surgical site infection
+10%
Anastomotic leak
+2%
Post-operative ileus
+7%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
4
High-Fiber Diet
75% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 95% Safety• 3 trials• 20K participants
MODERATE EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 25-35 grams daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
95
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

Weeks to months

Duration

Lifetime

Response Rate

70%

Remission Rate

%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

8

Common Side Effects:

Bloating: 20%
Gas: 25%
Abdominal discomfort (initial stages): 10%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$0

Monitoring

$50

Side Effects

$0

Total Annual

$50

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.2

Cost per Responder

$71

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Diverticulitis Recurrence Rate25% of patients experiencing recurrence within 5 years
-40% (Reduced by 10 percentage points (e.g., from 25% to 15%))
Abdominal Pain Severity (VAS)4.5 on a 0-10 Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
-33.33% (-1.5 points on VAS)
Bowel Movement Frequency3 bowel movements per week
+66.67% (+2 bowel movements per week)
Secondary Benefits
GI-Specific Quality of Life (e.g., SIGACT score)65 points on a 0-100 scale (higher is better)
+15.38% (+10 points on SIGACT scale)
Laxative Use Frequency3 times per week
-66.67% (-2 uses per week)
Hospitalizations for Diverticulitis0.5 hospitalizations per patient per year
-50% (-0.25 hospitalizations per patient per year)
Common Side Effects
Bloating
+20%
Gas
+25%
Abdominal discomfort (initial stages)
+10%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
5
Rifaximin (with fiber supplement)
40% Effectiveness• 60% Confidence• 70% Safety• 30 trials• 5K participants
MODERATE EvidencePoor ValueDose: 400mg BID or TID (cyclical)
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
70
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

Weeks to months

Duration

Intermittent cycles (e.g., 7-10 days/month) or continuous

Response Rate

30%

Remission Rate

%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

25

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

50

Common Side Effects:

Nausea: 7%
Abdominal pain: 5%
Peripheral edema: 6%
Dizziness: 3%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$8,000

Monitoring

$200

Side Effects

$50

Total Annual

$8,250

Cost-Effectiveness

POOR

QALYs Gained

0.02

Cost per Responder

$27,500

Treatment Outcomes
Efficacy Outcomes
Overall Effectiveness
+40%
Response Rate
+30%
Common Side Effects
Nausea
+7%
Abdominal pain
+5%
Peripheral edema
+6%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 3Phase 4
6
Mesalazine (5-ASA)
30% Effectiveness• 50% Confidence• 75% Safety• 6 trials• 8K participants
MODERATE EvidencePoor ValueDose: 1.2-4.8g daily in divided doses
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
75
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

Weeks to months

Duration

Months to years

Response Rate

25%

Remission Rate

%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

30

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

25

Common Side Effects:

Headache: 15%
Nausea: 8%
Abdominal pain: 6%
Rash: 2%
Nephrotoxicity (rare): 0.1%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$9,000

Monitoring

$300

Side Effects

$150

Total Annual

$9,450

Cost-Effectiveness

POOR

QALYs Gained

0.01

Cost per Responder

$37,800

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Abdominal Pain Severity (NRS 0-10)6.5/10
-27.69% (-1.8 points)
Diverticulitis Severity Index (DSI 0-30)18/30
-27.78% (-5 points)
Annual Diverticulitis Recurrence Rate25% of patients
-32% (-8 percentage points)
Fecal Calprotectin150 µg/g
-33.33% (-50 µg/g)
Secondary Benefits
Diverticular Disease Quality of Life (DD-QoL 0-100)60/100
+13.33% (+8 points)
Number of Symptomatic Days per Month10 days/month
-30% (-3 days/month)
Analgesic Use (days/month)7 days/month
-28.57% (-2 days/month)
Common Side Effects
Headache
+15%
Nausea
+8%
Abdominal pain
+6%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 3Phase 4