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Canine subclinical prostatic disease: histological prevalence and validity of digital rectal examination as a screening test.

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%).