[Digital rectal examination is a useful clinical procedure in the work-up of patients with colorectal or urogenital symptoms].

Digital rectal examination (DRE) is a simple and inexpensive clinical procedure to assess colorectal or urogenital complaints and is an essential part of the abdominal examination. DRE is a useful diagnostic and screening tool when reasonable suspicion of disease is present. Improved training and encouragement to perform DRE on a regular basis play an important role in improvement on DRE findings and the diagnostic accuracy improves with experience.