Urological emergencies in a Nigerian teaching hospital: Epidemiology and treatment

Urological emergencies constitute a significant part of emergency presentations in various referral centers. Data on the prevalence of these emergencies in West African sub-region are sparse.

The study is aimed at determining the pattern of urological emergencies in our center and is geared towards bridging the gap in knowledge of the epidemiology of urological emergencies in this sub-region as a means of achieving efficient use of scarce resources.

It was a retrospective study of all urological emergency cases that presented over six years in a Federal University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Data were collected from emergency register and theatre logs. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 25.

A total of 267 patients presented with urological emergencies during the period of study with 258 (96.6%) men and 9 (3.4%) women. The mean age of the patients was 50.6 ± 20.8 years. Urinary retention was the most common urological emergency accounting for 159 (59.6%) cases followed by Fournier's gangrene 23 (8.6%) and testicular torsion 23 (8.6%). Bladder and ureteral injuries accounted for 5 (55.6%) of the urological emergency presentations in women while both injuries accounted for only 4 (1.6%) in men (P = 0.000). Urethral catheterization was the most commonly performed procedure 139 (52.1%), followed by percutaneous suprapubic cystostomy (SPC) 31 (11.6%).

Urological emergencies have varying presentations in both sexes. Urinary retention, and acute scrotum were the most common urological emergencies in our facility. This knowledge can be used in emergency preparedness planning which involves personnel training and resource allocation.