Male discomfort during the digital rectal examination: does examiner gender make a difference?

To determine if examiner gender affects men's perceived pain and embarrassment during an emergency department (ED) digital rectal examination, we prospectively studied male ED patients undergoing rectal examination. Each subject's perceived pain and embarrassment was gauged using 100 mm visual analog scales. Age, complaint, and examiner gender and training level were recorded. Two-tailed Mann-Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis tests examined significant differences among group mean pain and embarrassment scores. Of 126 subjects, 60 had female and 66 had male examiners. Mean pain scores were similar for patients of female (36.5 mm) and male (37.4 mm) examiners (95% CI -9.8 to 11.5, P = .73). Mean embarrassment scores were similar for female (36.6 mm) and for male (32.9 mm) examiners (95% CI -7.9 to 15.3, P = .67). Younger male patients experienced more pain and embarrassment (P < .027). Examiner training level and prostatic examination did not affect the score.