What is advised for patients showing signs of faecal peritonitis due to diverticulitis?

The recommendation for patients presenting with faecal peritonitis due to diverticulitis is immediate surgical intervention, which typically involves resection of the affected bowel segment along with the creation of a stoma. This approach is crucial because faecal peritonitis indicates that there is a perforation within the gastrointestinal tract, leading to leakage of intestinal contents into the peritoneal cavity. This condition poses a significant risk of sepsis and other serious complications, necessitating rapid surgical correction to prevent further morbidity and mortality.

Immediate resection addresses the source of contamination and alleviates the ongoing inflammatory process. The stoma creation, whether temporary or permanent, provides a means to divert the fecal stream away from the anastomosis site, allowing for healing. In cases of faecal peritonitis, conservative management or merely providing antibiotic therapy would not adequately address the underlying problem, making immediate surgical intervention the best practice in this scenario.

Conservative management may be suitable for uncomplicated diverticulitis but not when there are signs of perforation and contamination in the peritoneal cavity. Simply relying on antibiotics also does not resolve the structural defect or control the source of infection. Outpatient follow-up does not suffice in a critical scenario where prompt operative care