Acute Urinary Retention due to Aseptic Meningitis: Meningitis-Retention Syndrome

Tae-Wan Kim1, Jin-Chul Whang, Soo-Hyeong Lee

  • 1Department of Urology, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

Insights

Acute urinary retention is a rare indicator of aseptic meningitis. This case highlights how urinary retention can prompt diagnosis of aseptic meningitis in patients with unexplained fever.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Urology

Background:

  • Aseptic meningitis diagnosis can be challenging due to subtle or absent neurological signs.
  • Acute urinary retention is an uncommon presentation of aseptic meningitis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To report a case where acute urinary retention served as a key diagnostic indicator for aseptic meningitis.
  • To emphasize the importance of considering aseptic meningitis in undiagnosed fever with urinary retention.

Main Methods:

  • Case report presentation.
  • Clinical diagnosis of aseptic meningitis.

Main Results:

  • Acute urinary retention was the primary symptom leading to the diagnosis.
  • Aseptic meningitis was identified as the cause of the patient's undiagnosed fever.

Conclusions:

  • Acute urinary retention can be a crucial, albeit rare, sign of aseptic meningitis.
  • This presentation underscores the need for a broad differential diagnosis in febrile patients with urinary retention.

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