Bladder Rupture: Rare Complication & Causes

A 77-year-old man presented to the emergency room for urinary retention. For four days he had been having difficulty urinating. A week earlier, he had been diagnosed with shingles, an infection caused by the same virus as chickenpox.

When infected with this virus for the first time, it causes chickenpox. But the virus remains in the body for life. In some people, it can reactivate and cause shingles, a condition characterized by painful, fungus-filled rashes. liquid.

The patient had been taking antivirals and painkillers for several days to treat his shingles.

A urinary catheter allowed her to empty her bladder for three hours

In the emergency room, the man explained that he had been having difficulty urinating for four days. Additionally, his lower abdomen was distended and painful. Doctors also found that his heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate were abnormally high. After the clinical examination, they carried out a scanner abdominopelvic. This revealed a large quantity of liquid in theabdomen and the basinwhich may suggest that the bladder had broken.

The patient was immediately transferred to intensive care. He was given a urinary catheter to drain excess urine. For three hours, bloody urine continually flowed from his bladder. Once the bladder was emptied, doctors found that it was torn two centimeters. The septuagenarian underwent emergency surgery to repair his bladder. After several weeks of hospitalization, the patient was able to return home, cured of his shingles.

“After the operation and treatment antiviralthe patient regained normal bladder function”indicated the doctors who took care of him. His case was described in the journal Infection and Drug Resistance.

Urinary retention is a rare complication of shingles, but it can affect up to 28% of people who develop shingles around the lower back and sacrum. © Busra, Adobe Stock

How can shingles cause a ruptured bladder?

Urinary retention is a rare but possible complication of shingles. It results in incomplete emptying of the bladder during urination. Only 4% of shingles patients experienced this complication at the medical center the patient visited. However, the doctors explain in their report that this rate is higher, almost 28%, in people who have developed shingles around the bottom of the of the a you sacred.

Urinary retention may be linked to inflammation bladder, nerves which communicate with this organ or nerves close to the spinal cord. This disrupts the signals that control the contraction of the muscles in the bladder wall. Instead of eliminating it, the bladder retains urine.

The report’s authors say this is the first reported case of bladder rupture due to shingles-related urinary retention. “The risk of urinary system dysfunction associated with shingles cannot be ignored”wrote the doctors.

In conclusion of their report, they specify that the history of type 2 diabetes in this patient could also have contributed to his symptoms. You should know that the diabetes is a disease that can lead to nerve damage. These lesions can cause you to partially lose the ability to feel the sensation of a full bladder and an empty bladder.