[Variability of rectal examination of the prostate among various groups of observers]

Rectal examination (RE) of the prostate gland is compulsory to rule out the presence of prostate cancer (PC). Empirically, it is defined as an examination burdened with a high degree of subjectivity and difficult to reproduce. The objective of this retrospective study is to evaluate RE concordance between different groups of researchers. In 133 patients referred to our Centre with suspected PC, RE was performed by three groups of experimented urologists (2 in-hospital and 1 out-hospital). Concordance between the different groups was evaluated using Kappa's index (K). Kappa's index between out- and in-hospital urologists was 70%, 71% and 78%. Concordance of RE findings between the different groups of urologists can be considered good, since no significant differences were found relative to ER positive predictive value.