[Iatrogenic diagnostic delay in rectal cancer]

From a case material of 151 rectal carcinoma patients it has been established that the duration of anamnesis from the first consultation of the doctor to the onset of treatment was in 40 percent of the cases longer than 3 months, and in 17 percent of the cases, longer than 6 months. Only 36 percent of the patients with clinically manifest disease underwent diagnosis within a month following the first consultation of the doctor; in 37 and 15 percent of the cases, diagnosis was made only after 3 and 6 months, respectively. The causes of iatrogenic delay of diagnosis are analyzed and demonstrated by typical examples.