Complicated jejunal diverticulosis with intestinal perforation and obstruction: Delay in hospital visit during confinement due to COVID-19

Abstract

Diverticulosis of the small bowel is a rare entity. It can cause acute, complications such as diverticulitis, perforation, intestinal bleeding and obstruction. During the pandemic, patients were reluctant to visit hospitals for fear of contracting coronavirus disease 2019. This caused the patients to wait until the extreme deterioration of many acute surgical conditions. An 83-year-old man with multiple comorbidities showed up at the emergency department with generalized abdominal pain of 7 days of evolution. The computed tomography scan revealed a large distention of the small intestine and a small inflammatory abscess. He was transferred to the operating room where a segment of the jejunum affected by multiple diverticula located on the mesenteric side of the intestine and a mesenteric abscess related to a perforated jejunal diverticulum were identified. Complicated jejunal diverticulosis is a difficult entity to diagnose, which can cause significant morbidity and mortality. To avoid this, its timely diagnosis is essential.