Rectal examination in patients with trauma has low sensitivity

Digital rectal exploration has been an obliged part of the systematic clinical evaluation of trauma patients. Patients can experience digital rectal exploration as unpleasant and offending, especially in a trauma setting. There are now several studies which show that digital rectal exploration has a very low sensitivity and rarely contributes to the diagnosis. In this manuscript, we review the indications and accuracy of rectal exploration in trauma patients and highlight the evidence that rectal exploration should only be performed selectively in trauma patients and not routinely.