Acute urinary retention in children.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Urology
• Pediatric Nephrology
• Pediatric Surgery

Background:

• Acute urinary retention (AUR) in children is a rare condition with diverse and often unclear causes.
• Understanding the specific etiologies of AUR in pediatric populations is crucial for effective management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and define the causes of acute urinary retention in children.
• To analyze patient data from three major pediatric centers in Iran.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective review of 86 children (up to 14 years) diagnosed with AUR between 1996 and 2003.
• Exclusion criteria included secondary causes like prior surgery or chronic neurological conditions.
• Data collected included medical history, physical examination, and diagnostic assessments such as cystourethroscopy and urodynamics.

Main Results:

• Lower urinary tract stones were the most common cause of AUR (27.9%).
• Other significant causes included neurological disorders (10.4%), trauma (10.4%), and local inflammatory conditions (9.1%).
• Ureterocele was a primary finding in girls, while stones were more prevalent in boys, who experienced AUR twice as often as girls.

Conclusions:

• Lower urinary tract stones represent the leading cause of acute urinary retention in the studied pediatric cohort.
• The etiological profile of pediatric AUR differs between genders, with stones predominating in boys and ureterocele in girls.