Diverticular disease of the colon presenting as pyometra: A case report

Abstract

Introduction. Pyometra can be caused by various etiologies. We present a rare case of diverticular disease of the colon presenting as pyometra. This type of presentation can be challenging even for an astute clinician. Case presentation. A 74-year-old Caucasian woman with a history of pyometra was referred to our gynecology clinic as an urgent case. She was obese, diabetic and hypertensive. Due to the patient profile and the clinical presentation, clinicians were misled toward a diagnosis of possible endometrial cancer. After further investigations, she was found to have colouterine fistula secondary to a diverticular abscess of the sigmoid colon. Conclusions: Persistent vaginal discharge due to pyometra can be caused by diverticular disease of the colon. Clinicians should be aware of this important differential diagnosis. © 2014 Pankaja et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.