Rectal examination is an important tool to investigate for any abdominal and genitourinary distress. It is important in examining for the gastrointestinal disease but also for the detection of disease in other pelvic organs and especially to address any blood loss. It is an intimate physical examination which should be conducted correctly and with the concern of patient comfort. Following is a short and comprehensive guideline of rectal examination which is adopted from Stanford Medicine 25.
Indications for rectal examination A rectal examination can be done to confirm a primary abdominal or genitourinary finding from the symptomatic investigation. Moreover, it can be used as a routine screening procedure without any prior suspicion or findings. General indications for a rectal examination are as follows: Assessment of the prostate (particularly symptoms of outflow obstruction). When…
