Role of Transabdominal Sonography as a Screening Tool in Prostatic Diseases

Introduction: Prostatic pathology is a very common entity and is often encountered in clinical practice. Transabdominal sonography (TAS) is a very easily performed investigation, is readily available and needs minimal preparation. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study is to effectively assess the role of TAS in early detection of prostate malignancy and to differentiate between various diseases of the prostate. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study carried out at our institute. A total of 100 patients with features of prostatism were examined clinically and with TAS. The clinical and TAS diagnosis were compared along with prostate specifi c antigen levels. Extent of tumor spread, capsular invasion, etc. is also observed. Results: Clinically 62 had benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), 11 with carcinoma and rest with other conditions. In this study, 9 patients with symptoms had normal prostate. By TAS 52 cases with BPH, 26 with carcinoma and rest with other conditions. Se prostate specifi c antigen correlation was done in both the modalities and better correlation was seen with TAS. Conclusion: TAS is a very effective screening modality for prostatic disease in patients with symptoms of prostatism. It is an easy to perform, cheap, easily available, requires minimum preparation and causes minimum discomfort to the patient. It effectively differentiates benign from malignant disease and can assess gland volume. However, it has a certain drawback like inability to exactly assess the extent of spread of disease. It can be used as an effective screening tool for early detection of carcinoma prostate.