Managing and preventing acute urinary retention

Acute urinary retention (AUR), an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous condition, often occurs in men who have benign prostatic hyperplasia. Although the reported incidence of AUR varies in the literature, there are a number of events that are known to precipitate episodes of AUR, including ingestion of certain agents, infection, general anesthesia, and performance of various diagnostic genitourinary procedures. Because it is preferable to avoid the need for catheterization (and the associated risks) in men at high risk for AUR, certain measures have been studied as means to prevent AUR episodes. Specifically, alpha-blockers and 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors have been shown to reduce the incidence of initial and subsequent AUR episodes in certain at-risk men.