[Etiology of urinary sphincter disorders following cerebral vascular accidents]

Urological and neurological investigations were carried out in a homogeneous population of 77 hemiplegic patients treated in a neurological rehabilitation department, in an attempt to identify the etiology of secondary bladder dysfunction in such cases, with the aid of computerized data. The following conclusions were reached. Bladder retention was proved to result invariably from a mechanical obstacle. Permanent bladder incontinence was always due to urinary infection and/or mental deterioration. Exclusively nocturnal incontinence was shown to be a "pseudo-incontinence". It was shown that an uninhibited bladder played no part in incontinence but was always present in cases of an urgent need to urinate.