Rectal bleeding amongst Medical Students: Prevalence and Consultation Behaviour.

Background: Rectal bleeding can be a symptom of colorectal cancer. Consultation behaviour of health care professionals may influence the attention they give to patients who consult them.
Objective: To determine the prevalence of rectal bleeding among medical students and their consultation behaviour. A Questionnaire survey was undertaken at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria.
Methods: One hundred and eighty-seven final year medical students completed the questionnaires.
Results: Forty-one (21.9%) had noticed rectal bleeding at sometime in their lives and 27 (14.4%) had noticed it within the previous 12 months. Five out of twenty-seven (18.5%) sought medical advice. Those who sought medical advice (consulters) perceived the symptom as serious. Non-consulters felt they knew the cause of their symptoms and some were afraid of rectal examination. Only 40% of consulters had digital rectal examination conducted by the consulted physician.
Conclusion: Rectal bleeding is relatively common amongst the medical students reviewed. Only one in six consulted a physician.