Pontine stroke and bladder dysfunction

Rakesh Shukla1, Prithvi Giri1, Aveg Bhandari1

  • 1Department of Neurology, King George's Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

BMJ Case Reports
|May 31, 2014
PubMed

We report the case of a 54-year-old hypertensive woman who presented with sudden onset left hemiparesis with facial asymmetry and inability to pass urine. Her bladder was distended and she had to be catheterised. MRI of her brain showed a large infarct in the right pontine region. Antiplatelet therapy was instituted and the patient showed good recovery and was able to walk with support after a fortnight at the time of discharge. She was discharged with a catheter in situ. After 6 months, she could walk with the support of a stick, but had increased frequency and urgency of micturition along with nocturia. Urodynamic study revealed detrusor hyper-reflexia, possibly due to involvement of the pontine micturition centre.

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