Long-term treatment with rifaximin and lactobacilli in post-diverticulitic stenoses of the colon

Abstract

The authors report their endoscopic experience in the treatment of intestinal inflammatory complications and their prevention with cyclic antibiotic treatment (rifaximin 400 mg b.i.d. for 7 days/month), followed by recolonizing treatment with lactobacilli (2 capsules in the morning for 7 days/month), for an overall period of 12 months. In all 79 cases (45 males and 34 females, mean age 63 years, range 55-75 years), the treatment proved capable of controlling the symptoms and averting the onset of the complications which follow attacks of acute diverticulitis. These complications include uncontrollable sepsis, free perforation of a hollow viscus, evolutive fistulation, intestinal occlusion, abscesses not drained percutaneously, all factors which necessitate urgent elective surgery. Rifaximin, together with lactobacillus treatment, proved to be effective, well-tolerated and safe, and can thus be considered an indispensable aid in the treatment of diverticular disease and in the prevention of its complications.