Possible underestimation of non-operative management success in perforated diverticulitis with distant free air : Re: Cirocchi R, Matteucci M, Mari GM et al. (2026) The role of non-operative management (NOM) in perforated diverticulitis: a systematic review. Langenbecks Arch Surg 411:79.

The review reported a 27.8% success rate for non-operative management in patients with distant free air and, on that basis, suggested that early surgery should be strongly considered.

Several values in the distant-free-air column of Table 5 of the review also correspond exactly to the complementary failure rates, which is compatible with a labelling or reporting error.