• Toshihiko Takada, Hiroki Nishiwaki, Yosuke Yamamoto, Yoshinori Noguchi, Shingo Fukuma, Shin Yamazaki, and Shunichi Fukuhara.
• Department of Healthcare Epidemiology, School of Public Health in the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Department of General Medicine, Shirakawa Satellite for Teaching And Research (STAR), Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
• Plos One. 2015 Jan 1; 10 (9): e0136996.

BackgroundDigital rectal examination (DRE) has been traditionally recommended to evaluate acute appendicitis, although several reports indicate its lack of utility for this diagnosis. No meta-analysis has examined DRE for diagnosis of acute appendicitis.ObjectivesTo assess the role of DRE for diagnosis of acute appendicitis.Data SourcesCochrane Library, PubMed, and SCOPUS from the earliest available date of indexing through November 23, 2014, with no language restrictions.Study SelectionClinical studies assessing DRE as an index test for diagnosis of acute appendicitis.Data Extraction And SynthesisTwo independent reviewers extracted study data and assessed the quality, using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 tool. Bivariate random-effects models were used for the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) as point estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CI).Main Outcomes And MeasuresThe main outcome measure was the diagnostic performance of DRE for diagnosis of acute appendicitis.ResultsWe identified 19 studies with a total of 7511 patients. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.49 (95% CI 0.42-0.56) and 0.61 (95% CI 0.53-0.67), respectively. The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 1.24 (95% CI 0.97-1.58) and 0.85 (95% CI 0.70-1.02), respectively. The DOR was 1.46 (0.95-2.26).Conclusion And RelevanceAcute appendicitis cannot be ruled in or out through the result of DRE. Reconsideration is needed for the traditional teaching that rectal examination should be performed routinely in all patients with suspected appendicitis.

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