A Case of Female Acute Urinary Retention Presenting to the ED

Abstract EN

Introduction.

Acute urinary retention is a rare occurrence in women necessitating further investigation.

Potential underlying causes may be broadly classified into obstructive, neurological, pharmacological, and psychogenic categories.

Case.

A 36-year-old nulliparous female presented to the Emergency Department with a two-day history of acute urinary retention.

Point-of-care ultrasonography and CT scan imaging confirmed the presence of a large uterine mass causing compression of the bladder.

The acute retention was relieved with urethral catheterization.

A Uterine leiomyoma was confirmed on histology after hysterectomy.

Discussion.

Once the acute urinary retention has been relieved by insertion of a urethral catheter, the underlying cause of the obstruction must be determined.

Although uterine leiomyoma is a fairly common finding in the general population, it is an extremely rare cause of acute urinary retention in women with just a handful of reported cases in the literature.