A case is presented in which severe urinary retention (UR) occurred during an acute psychotic exacerbation of paranoid schizophrenia. The voiding dysfunction was apparent during continuous treatment with unchanged doses of haloperidol, and it completely resolved with the remission of the psychotic symptoms. A clear temporal correlation was evident between the patient’s mental status, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score and the degree of the UR as assessed by quantitatively measuring the total daily postvoiding urine residues. We could not relate the UR to any apparent general medical condition or to the haloperidol treatment. The presented data suggests that UR in schizophrenic patients might be the end-result of various psychosis-related mechanisms.

Spinal epidural abscess is an uncommon condition. Predisposing factors include spinal surgery, recent trauma, immunosuppression, a distal site of infection and intravenous drug use; however, these are not always present, as illustrated by this case report describing a patient who had repeated emergency department visits and delayed diagnosis that was ultimately confirmed via magnetic resonance imaging.

We studied a number of factors that may be associated with urinary retention, in particular the method of postoperative analgesia delivery, in 47 men and 69 women undergoing lower limb joint replacements. The following factors were studied: age, gender, height, weight, previous history of urinary retention, presence of symptoms suggestive of urinary tract obstruction, type of anaesthetic (general anaesthetic or spinal anaesthetic), type of postoperative analgesia (intramuscular or patient-controlled analgesia with morphine) and the total dose of morphine given. Urinary retention developed in 18.1% of patients. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent explanators of an increased probability of developing urinary retention. Three factors emerged – male gender, increasing age and the use of patient-controlled analgesia.

A non-invasive ultrasound imaging technique (BladderScan) was used prospectively in an attempt to reduce the need for catheterization of the urinary bladder and the incidence of urinary tract infections after orthopaedic surgery. Over a 4-month period, in which 1920 patients were included, catheterization was performed if there was no spontaneous diuresis by 8 h after surgery. A total of 31% of these patients were catheterized, and 18 patients developed urinary tract infections. In a subsequent 4-month period, there were 2196 patients, catheterization was performed only if the bladder volume was more than 800 mL 8 h after surgery. The rate of catheterization decreased to 16%, and five patients developed urinary tract infections. In our patients, measuring bladder volume reduced the need for a urinary catheter and the likelihood of urinary infection.