Urinary retention in the course of neuroleptic therapy with haloperidol

A case history was presented of a 49-year-old female patient, who had developed paranoid-hallucinatory schizophrenia for the first time and suffered from an acute functional bladder obstruction while receiving haloperidol. Thorough urological examination showed no pathologic findings except for a medium-grade urinary tract infection. No beneficial effects were obtained after application of parasympathicomimetic substances (carbachol, distigminebromide). After discontinuation of haloperidol therapy normal bladder function returned. The question as to the basic causative pharmacologic mechanism remains unanswered but the hypothesis that bladder dysfunction is due solely to the anticholinergic side-effects of haloperidol merits further critical elucidation and research.