title: Validation of the digital rectal examination as an estimate of anal sphincter squeeze pressure.
abstract: Although digital examination is commonly used to assess anal sphincter tone and maximal squeeze pressure, the accuracy of this test has never been adequately validated. A total of 27 patients with a spectrum of subjectively assessed anal sphincter tones were studied. Simultaneous subjective (digital) and objective (manometric) determinations of maximal anal squeeze pressures were made. Subjective digital assessment revealed the following: three patients, absent squeeze pressure (grade 0); two patients, markedly reduced (grade +1); six patients, reduced (grade +2); and the remaining 16 patients had normal maximal squeeze pressure (grade +3). Simultaneous objective anal sphincter pressure measurements, when compared with these subjective values, revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.97 (p less than 0.05). Therefore, the clinician can reliably use the digital rectal examination to judge anal sphincter strength.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Kaushal
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Goldner
mesh_terms: D001003:Anal Canal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D008365:Manometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011312:Pressure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results