Case Report: Using Point-of-care Ultrasound as a Tool to Identify a Urethral Foreign Body.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Urology
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Imaging is vital for patients with retained urethral foreign objects in the emergency department.
• Radiographs are commonly used but may not fully characterize the object or guide management.
• Ultrasonography can offer more detailed information than plain radiographs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the utility of ultrasonography in identifying and characterizing urethral foreign objects.
• To present a case where ultrasonography identified an object missed by radiography.
• To emphasize ultrasonography's role in guiding management of retained urethral foreign objects.

Main Methods:

• Case report detailing the identification and characterization of a retained urethral foreign object.
• Comparison of imaging findings between plain radiography and ultrasonography.
• Discussion of the management guided by imaging results.

Main Results:

• A retained urethral foreign object was identified and characterized using ultrasonography.
• The foreign object was not visible on plain radiography.
• Ultrasonography provided crucial details for management planning.

Conclusions:

• Ultrasonography is a valuable tool for imaging retained urethral foreign objects.
• Despite limitations, ultrasonography provides preferable imaging compared to radiography in these cases.
• Ultrasonography can effectively guide the management of patients with urethral foreign objects.