Bacteria-ball in the urinary tract: a rare entity.
Lim Tze Ying Benjamin1, Wai Loon Yam1, Angeline Choo Choo Poh2
1Department of Urology, Changi General Hospital, Singapore.
BJR Case Reports
|September 14, 2020
Summary
A rare bacterial ball in the urinary tract was found in a patient with diabetic cystopathy and a long-term catheter. This unusual finding presented as a bladder stone on CT scan.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Microbiology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Diabetic cystopathy often requires long-term urinary catheterization, increasing infection risk.
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in catheterized patients, but bacterial masses are exceptionally rare.
Observation:
- A patient with diabetic cystopathy on a long-term indwelling urinary catheter presented with fever and gross hematuria.
- Abdominal and pelvic CT scans revealed a gas-containing, hyperdense bladder mass, initially suspected to be a bladder stone.
Findings:
- Histopathology confirmed the mass was a bacterial colony embedded within an acellular matrix.
- This represents the first reported case of a bacterial ball within the urinary tract.
Implications:
- This case highlights an extremely rare complication of long-term urinary catheterization in diabetic patients.
- It underscores the importance of considering unusual etiologies for bladder masses, even in the presence of typical UTI symptoms.
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