Prostatic ultrasonography: a useful technique?

Two hundred and forty-four transrectal prostatic ultrasonograms have been reviewed and the findings compared with the final pathological or clinical diagnosis. A high degree of accuracy was achieved in diagnosing benign prostatic hyperplasia. Ultrasonography proved invaluable in staging proven prostatic carcinomas but it was disappointing as a primary diagnostic tool for cancer, with false positive and negatives rates of 12 and 31% respectively. These findings are discussed in the light of other workers' results. Further applications for prostatic ultrasonography are outlined.