title: Presentation and prognosis of female acute urinary retention: Analysis of an unusual clinical condition in outpatients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Acute urinary retention (AUR) in females is a poorly defined condition with undetermined epidemiology. This study aimed to evaluate female AUR in an outpatient population.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and thirty-eight adult female outpatients who presented to the emergency room with symptoms of urinary retention were retrospectively analyzed. The women who were ultimately diagnosed with true, complete AUR were systematically reviewed for clinical characteristics and management.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this outpatient cohort with urinary retention complaints, only 23% of the patients were diagnosed with objective AUR. Detailed medical and urological history in addition to urogenital, neurological, and pelvic examinations was essential; urine analysis and pelvic ultrasonography were necessary as baseline investigations. Further radiological and urodynamic tests were required in a minority. Specific etiology was established in 77% of the patients, whereas there was more than one probable cause in 16% of the patients, and no specific cause was found in 6.5% of the patients. Bladder decompression and correction of the underlying cause helped 92.6% of the reviewed patients to eventually achieve spontaneous micturition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proportion of true, complete AUR among female outpatients presenting to the emergency department was 23% following urological evaluation. Acute condition was resolved by urgent catheterization in all, and the majority of women had eventually resumed spontaneous voiding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Acibadem University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Özveren
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Acibadem University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selçuk
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Keskin
keywords: Acute urinary retention; female; urethral catheterization; voiding dysfunction