The DICA endoscopic score and the CODA clinical score may predict the severity of acute diverticulitis and the risk of hospitalisation: results from an international multicentre prospective cohort study

Background: We assessed whether baseline endoscopic and clinical scores of diverticular disease (DD) may predict the severity of acute diverticulitis (AD), hospital admission and length of hospital stay (HS). Methods: We conducted a 3-year, multicentre, prospective cohort study involving 2215 patients. DD was scored according to the Diverticular Inflammation and Complication Assessment (DICA) classification and the Combined Overview on Diverticular Assessment (CODA) score. Results: Higher baseline DICA and CODA scores were associated with increased risk of complicated AD [relative risk ratio (RRR) = 5.57; 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.42–9.09 and RRR = 5.17; 95% CI: 3.01–8.88, respectively]. An average HS of 4.62 days (95% CI: 2.93–6.27) for DICA 1, 5.57 days (95% CI: 4.29–6.85) for DICA 2 and 6.73 days (95% CI: 5.81–7.64) for DICA 3 was recorded; an average HS of 4.14 days (95% CI: 2.32–5.96) for CODA A, 5.12 days (95% CI: 3.67–6.56) for CODA B and 6.32 days (95% CI: 5.35–7.30) for CODA C was recorded. Conclusions: DICA and CODA scores may predict the severity of AD and the length of the HS.