Myoelectrical activity of the sigmoid colon in patients with diverticular disease and the irritable colon syndrome suffering from diarrhoea.

It is often suggested that the irritable colon syndrome is a pre-diverticular condition and that patients with diverticular disease and predominant diarrhoea are in fact suffering from the irritable colon syndrome. In this study colonic motor function in diverticular disease (7 patients with predominant diarrhoea), in the irritable colon syndrome (7 patients with predominant diarrhoea) and in 8 normal subjects were compared. Patients with diarrhoea were matched for symptom score, stool weight and transit time. Slow wave electrical activity was measured by an intraluminal suction electrode and patients with the irritable colon syndrome displayed a predominant frequency at 3 cpm. This was not found in patients with diverticular disease. No myoelectrical evidence to link the two conditions was found.