Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How common is hidden prostate disease in male dogs and can rectal
By Mukaratirwa, S & Chitura, T·Published in Journal of the South African Veterinary Association·2007·Department of Paraclinical Studies, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine subclinical prostatic disease: histological prevalence and validity of digital rectal examination as a screening test.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that 75.6% of male dogs, regardless of age, had some form of subclinical prostatic disease, which means they showed no obvious symptoms. The most common issue was benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is an enlargement of the prostate, followed by prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate). Digital rectal examinations (DRE) were used to screen for these conditions, but while they were good at confirming disease when it was present, they missed a lot of cases. This means that even if a DRE comes back normal, it doesn't completely rule out prostate problems, especially in older or intact males.
People also search for: dog prostate problems · signs of prostate disease in dogs · digital rectal exam for dogs · benign prostatic hyperplasia treatment in dogs
Abstract
The present study investigated the histological prevalence of subclinical prostatic disease in a canine mixed-breed population. The reliability of digital rectal examination (DRE) as a screening test for subclinical prostatic disease was also evaluated. DRE was performed on 500 male dogs (age range 1 to 21 years) before the dogs died of diseases not related to the prostate. Necropsies of these dogs were performed and prostates were collected for histological evaluation. The overall prevalence of subclinical prostatic disease was 75.6%. The most prevalent subclinical prostatic diseases were benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (44.8%), prostatitis (23.6%) and prostatic neoplasia (3.6%). The prevalence of subclinical BPH and prostatic neoplasia increased with age but that of prostatitis was not influenced by age. The prevalence of subclinical BPH and prostatitis were higher in intact than castrated dogs. DRE had a high specificity (75%) and positive predictive value (87%), but a low sensitivity (53%) and negative predictive value (34%).
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17941597/