TRUS is not a common practice at St. Luke's Hospital, Malta : why?

Abstract

Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) has a distinct role in the diagnosis of prostate carcinoma, a pathology which is caused when a number of cells of the prostate reproduce much quicker than the normal ones. Its role has radically increased in the past ten years, which is primarily related to the increasing incidence of prostate carcinoma. Transrectal ultrasound is used worldwide, however, this is not the case at St. Luke's Hospital, Malta. Indeed, the objective of the research is to establish and evaluate the reasons for which TRUS is not performed as a common practice at St. Luke's Hospital, Malta. The radiologists had different opinions regarding this lack of practice, of which; their inexperience in performing TRUS, lack of radiologists due to the radiology department being short of staff and the fact that transabdominal ultrasound (TAUS) is sufficient to examine the prostate. On the other hand, the urologists agreed that the reason for which TRUS is not performed at SLH is due to the fact that, they were not aware that the equipment is really available in the radiology department and is fully functional. Furthermore, they stated that the equipment should be kept in the urology suite, as they all agreed that TRUS and TRUS guided biopsies should be performed by the urologist and not by the radiologist. In addition, both the radiologists and the urologists stated that, lack of communication between them, is a major reason for this lack of practice. Based on the findings, a number of conclusions and recommendations are presented and proposed respectively.