Patients' reactions to digital rectal examination of the prostate

Background:Digital rectal examination (DRE) of the prostate is a simple, fast, cost effective and safe procedure, however, because of previous painful experience, some men may refuse it. Other negative factors include cultural barriers, fear of discovering cancer and embarrassments. However, some men accept DRE because of their symptoms and wishes to contribute to science. The aim of this study was to examine how previous experience of DRE could influence a repeat and to further evaluate their impression before and after DRE including pain score. Patients and Methods:We evaluated one hundred patients who met the inclusion criteria using a structured questionnaire that detailed information on patients biodata, their previous DRE experiences, expectations before and reactions after a repeat. Pain score was also examined using visual analog scale of 0 to 10. Data were collated and analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. P-value was set at <0.05. Results:Mean age of patients was 64.88±7.53 years ranging from 46 to 82 years. Forty five percent of them complained of pain from previous DRE while 55% reported no pain. Forty one percent of the men anticipated pain before this present procedure but only 8% of them reported that it was painful and humiliating after the procedure. Fifty nine percent had good impression before DRE and after the procedure 92% reported good impression. All patients expressed their willingness to repeat DRE in future if need be and to encourage friends who may need DRE evaluation of their condition. Mean pain score was 0.59± 1.349 (0 ­ 9). Conclusion:Patients previous experience of DRE could negatively influence a repeat procedure because of pain, improper counseling apart from some cultural barriers. DRE in the hands of Urologists has been better tolerated than other clinicians. This calls for proper exposure of medical students to this procedure and need for continuous medical education for other clinicians for skills improvement.

Accuracy of digital rectal examination to diagnose prostate cancer confirmed by needle biopsy reports: A 3­year hospital-based study

Background: Digital rectal examination (DRE) is an indispensable tool for provisional diagnosis of prostate diseases. When abnormal prostate examination findings are elicited, a diagnosis of prostate cancer (Pca) is usually entertained and further tests to confirm or rule out the presence of Pca demands histological examination of biopsied tissue. A combination of DRE findings and serum PSA increases the predictive value for Pca diagnosis. In this study, we evaluated the degree of accuracy of DRE to diagnose Pca confirmed by histology reports of biopsy specimens.Materials and Methods: Two hundred and six (206) patients were studied over a period of three years. Information retrieved from their case notes were entered into a well-structured protocol for management of prostatic diseases. Analysis of variables collated was performed with the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Frequency table was used to analyze categorical variables while descriptive statistics was used for continuous variables. Level of significance was set at P<.05.Results: 206 patients were studied with mean age of 68.23±8.71 years ranging from 48 to 91 years. Men in the Pca group were older than those in the BPH group. Abnormal DRE was associated with high grade tumours, and high level of aggressive tumour characteristics by WHO grade group standard.Conclusion: DRE has a high level of accuracy in predicting a diagnosis of Pca which was confirmed by histology reports especially in prostates with abnormal findings

Digital Rectal Examination for Prostate and Rectal Tumour: Knowledge and Experience of Final Year Medical Students

BACKGROUND: It is most pertinent that medical students are taught the necessary skills for digital rectal examination (DRE) before they become doctors. OBJECTIVE: The study is to assess the knowledge and experience of final year medical students regarding DRE for prostate and rectal tumours. METHODS: Well-structured questionnaire were administered to each of the final year medical students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology a week to their final examinations. RESULTS: Response was received from 127 (60) of the students; 124 (97.6) agreed that they have been taught DRE. Most of the students; 102 (80.3); have done one to five DRE; three (2.4) and have never performed DRE while none of the students have done more than ten DRE. Only in 49 (38.6) of cases were the findings of the students on DRE always confirmed by a doctor. Nine students (7.1) have never felt a clinical BPH and none had felt it more than five times. Sixtysix (52.0) have never felt a malignant prostate and none of the students have felt it up to three times. Most of the students; 106 (83.5); have never felt a rectal tumour on DRE Only five (3.9) felt very confident of their ability to give an opinion based on their findings on DRE while 105 (82.7) felt reasonably confident CONCLUSIONS: The students have been taught DRE and a good number of them have performed it. Few of the DRE done by the students were cross-checked by a doctor. Most of the students have problems differentiating BPH from cancer of the prostate and many of them were not very confident of their findings on DRE

Prostate specific antigen versus digital rectal examination as screening for CA prostate in Sudanese patients

Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare the value of digital rectal examination (DRE) and prostate specific antigen (PSA) determination in the detection of prostate cancer among Sudanese patients presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Material and Methods: A prospective study was carried out in Gezira Hospital for Renal Diseases and Surgery in the period of June 2003- May 2005. Patients presenting with LUTS, had been screened for prostate cancer using PSA and DRE examination.. Serum PSA and DRE were measured in all patients. Trans rectal biopsy was performed if the PSA was over 4ng and /or abnormal DRE. Results: A total of 194 elderly male pa3ents presen3ng with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), 140 of them were at last diagnosed as benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and 54 pa3ents were been confirmed with prostate cancer (PCa). Their mean age was 65 years (range 45-90). Elevated level of PSA (> 4 ng/ml) was found in all the patients with prostate cancer (n= 54) and 68.6% (n= 96) of BPH patients. The rate of prostate cancer detection showed to be 25.7% for PSA > 4ng/ml, 13.31% for abnormal (positive) finding of DRE, and 27.8% for combination of the positive DRE and PSA > 4 ng/ml. The rate of BPH detec3on showed to be 68.6% for PSA > 4ng/ml, 28.6% for posi3ve finding of DRE, and 4.1% for combination of the positive DRE and PSA > 4 ng/ml. Conclusion: It was found that PSA determination detects a considerable proportion of tumors missed by DRE. And the combination of PSA and DRE escalates the probability of prostate cancer detection,