5. • Positioning of patient ≠ increased diagnostic yield
• Make the patient comfortable
• Warm and reserved room, preferably with a restroom
• Better to explain the steps of the procedure
• Empty bladder before DRE – relieve the discomfort of fullness, false
prostate enlargement
• After exam, offer tissue for removing jelly and ask the patient if he
wants to use the restroom
6. Technique
• Spread the buttocks and examine the perineum
• Fingertip of examiner placed at the entrance of anus for a few
seconds, applying gentle pressure against anal sphincter reflex
contraction.
• After sphincter relaxes, and when patient is breathing out slowly,
finger is inserted all the way into rectum
• Entire circumference of rectum is examined
7. • Overestimation of small glands and underestimation of large glands
• Isolated median lobe hypertrophy can have normal DRE
9. Nodularity
• Cancers arise in PZ and it is the zone which can be palpated rectally
• Mean PPV of DRE for cancer is 34% (i.e. : 1 in 3 with nodular prostate have
cancer)
Hard prostate:
• PZ calcifications
• Granulomatous prostatitis
• Midline prostatic cysts
• Prostatic calculi
• Prostatic infarction
• Rectal phlebolith
10.
11. Limitations of DRE
• Until 1980, DRE was the most efficient test for diagnosis of cancer
• DRE misses 23-45% of prostate cancers that are subsequently found
with biopsies for ↑ PSA
12. Romero grading of BPE
Upper limit
reachability
Lateral sulcus Median sulcus
20 g Grade I With ease 1 finger depth Not felt
30 g Grade I/II
40 g Grade II With effort >1 but <2 finger
depth
prominent
50 g Grade II/III
60 g Grade III With difficulty 2 finger depth Obliteration by rounded
surface
80 g Grade IV Not reachable >2 finger depth Obliteration by rounded
surface
13. USG grading of BPE
Grade 1 <30 g
Grade 2 30-50 g
Grade 3 50-85 g
Grade 4 >85 g
Barnes grading of BPE
Grade Protrusion into rectum
Grade 1 1-2 cm
Grade 2 >2 but ≤3 cm
Grade 3 >3 but ≤4 cm
Grade 4 >4 cm
14. Tsui et al grading of prostate
Posterior surface area of prostate ml or g of prostate
<2 FW <40
≥2 but <3 FW 40-60
≥3 FW >60
15. Prostate glandular volume – when do we
need?
• For BPE
• PSA density
• For brachytherapy – number of seeds to order
16. Determination of prostate volume by TRUS
M K Terris et al, J Urol. 1991 May
• 150 patients
• 31 to 79 years old
• Who underwent RP for CA prostate or RCP for TCC bladder
• TRUS volumes were compared with specimen weights after removing
SV and bladder
20. • Ellipsoid = ∏/6(TD*APD*CCD)
• Spheroid = ∏/6(TD3)
• Prolate spheroid = (TD2 * APD)
• Step planimetry = sum of surface area of prostate in every 2 mm
planes and adding the surface area and then multiplying by stepping
interval(2 mm)
22. • Prolate ellipsoid formula>step section planimetry>ellipsoid
• When glands>80g, spheroid formula is the best
• Step section planimetry – cumbersome, time consuming for both
patient and physician
• Cephalocaudal dimension is the least reliable axis measurable – base
and apex not distinct
23. Inter imaging accuracy of CT, MRI and TRUS in measuring prostate
volume compared to anatomic prostate weight, Vaishnavi
Narayanamurthy et al, Turk J Urol, 2020