Medical myth: Bimanual pelvic examination is a reliable decision aid in the investigation of acute abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding.
Reliance on the accuracy of the pelvic examination is upheld in many medical textbooks, but review of the literature does not support the accuracy or reproducibility of this examination. That this "test" is useful for ruling out serious disease will be exposed for the myth that it is.
Brown
Todd
T
Department of Emergency Medicine, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California, U.S.A.
Herbert
Mel E
ME