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Awareness and Acceptance of Digital Rectal Examination for the Clinical Evaluation of Anorectal Conditions Among the Saudi Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Digital rectal examination (DRE) is an important diagnostic tool used by physicians to resolve several confusing clinical situations. The history and physical examination cannot be complete without performing a DRE. Any patient that presents with abdominal complaints (e.g., diarrhea, c...

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Autores principales: Al Faifi, Jubran J, AlAradi, Musaab M, Alomar, Naif A, AlMuqrin, Farah F, AlKublan, Reem M
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10423588/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37581127
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.41873
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author Al Faifi, Jubran J
AlAradi, Musaab M
Alomar, Naif A
AlMuqrin, Farah F
AlKublan, Reem M
author_facet Al Faifi, Jubran J
AlAradi, Musaab M
Alomar, Naif A
AlMuqrin, Farah F
AlKublan, Reem M
author_sort Al Faifi, Jubran J
collection PubMed
description Introduction: Digital rectal examination (DRE) is an important diagnostic tool used by physicians to resolve several confusing clinical situations. The history and physical examination cannot be complete without performing a DRE. Any patient that presents with abdominal complaints (e.g., diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, abdominal or rectal pain, bleeding) needs a DRE which is important for detecting warning signs of serious conditions that require further investigation and evaluation such as malignancies. Therefore, our aim was to assess and measure the awareness of the Saudi population regarding the importance and acceptance to perform DRE. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, using an online survey between September 2022 and March 2023; the targeted participants were adults between the ages of 18 to 75. Results: The study indicated that the general community awareness of DRE is low, with only 59.1% of participants having heard of DRE and 14.6% having undergone the procedure previously. The majority of individuals (60.9%) were willing to undergo DRE if a healthcare provider suggested it. Participants' knowledge of DRE's ability to detect various anorectal diseases varied. While the majority of individuals believed DRE could detect hemorrhoids, just 40.4% believed DRE could help detect colorectal cancer. Chronic constipation or diarrhea, feces-induced stretching, and prolonged sitting were the most oft-cited causes of hemorrhoids. Anemia was the most often reported consequence of hemorrhoids, followed by hypertension and diabetes. Conclusion: The significance of DRE as a screening tool for the early detection and prevention of anorectal problems, as well as the need for adequate care and treatment of hemorrhoids to prevent complications, are highlighted by these findings. Healthcare practitioners should actively recommend and provide information about DRE and other screening technologies, as well as address their patients' concerns and misconceptions.
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spelling pubmed-104235882023-08-14 Awareness and Acceptance of Digital Rectal Examination for the Clinical Evaluation of Anorectal Conditions Among the Saudi Population: A Cross-Sectional Study Al Faifi, Jubran J AlAradi, Musaab M Alomar, Naif A AlMuqrin, Farah F AlKublan, Reem M Cureus Family/General Practice Introduction: Digital rectal examination (DRE) is an important diagnostic tool used by physicians to resolve several confusing clinical situations. The history and physical examination cannot be complete without performing a DRE. Any patient that presents with abdominal complaints (e.g., diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, abdominal or rectal pain, bleeding) needs a DRE which is important for detecting warning signs of serious conditions that require further investigation and evaluation such as malignancies. Therefore, our aim was to assess and measure the awareness of the Saudi population regarding the importance and acceptance to perform DRE. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, using an online survey between September 2022 and March 2023; the targeted participants were adults between the ages of 18 to 75. Results: The study indicated that the general community awareness of DRE is low, with only 59.1% of participants having heard of DRE and 14.6% having undergone the procedure previously. The majority of individuals (60.9%) were willing to undergo DRE if a healthcare provider suggested it. Participants' knowledge of DRE's ability to detect various anorectal diseases varied. While the majority of individuals believed DRE could detect hemorrhoids, just 40.4% believed DRE could help detect colorectal cancer. Chronic constipation or diarrhea, feces-induced stretching, and prolonged sitting were the most oft-cited causes of hemorrhoids. Anemia was the most often reported consequence of hemorrhoids, followed by hypertension and diabetes. Conclusion: The significance of DRE as a screening tool for the early detection and prevention of anorectal problems, as well as the need for adequate care and treatment of hemorrhoids to prevent complications, are highlighted by these findings. Healthcare practitioners should actively recommend and provide information about DRE and other screening technologies, as well as address their patients' concerns and misconceptions. Cureus 2023-07-14 /pmc/articles/PMC10423588/ /pubmed/37581127 http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.41873 Text en Copyright © 2023, Al Faifi et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Family/General Practice
Al Faifi, Jubran J
AlAradi, Musaab M
Alomar, Naif A
AlMuqrin, Farah F
AlKublan, Reem M
Awareness and Acceptance of Digital Rectal Examination for the Clinical Evaluation of Anorectal Conditions Among the Saudi Population: A Cross-Sectional Study
title Awareness and Acceptance of Digital Rectal Examination for the Clinical Evaluation of Anorectal Conditions Among the Saudi Population: A Cross-Sectional Study
title_full Awareness and Acceptance of Digital Rectal Examination for the Clinical Evaluation of Anorectal Conditions Among the Saudi Population: A Cross-Sectional Study
title_fullStr Awareness and Acceptance of Digital Rectal Examination for the Clinical Evaluation of Anorectal Conditions Among the Saudi Population: A Cross-Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Awareness and Acceptance of Digital Rectal Examination for the Clinical Evaluation of Anorectal Conditions Among the Saudi Population: A Cross-Sectional Study
title_short Awareness and Acceptance of Digital Rectal Examination for the Clinical Evaluation of Anorectal Conditions Among the Saudi Population: A Cross-Sectional Study
title_sort awareness and acceptance of digital rectal examination for the clinical evaluation of anorectal conditions among the saudi population: a cross-sectional study
topic Family/General Practice
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10423588/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37581127
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.41873
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