URINARY RETENTION DUE TO HERPES-VIRUS INFECTIONS

Urinary retention is uncommon in patients with herpes tester and anoge nital herpes simplex. Seven patients (four men, three women) with a me an age of 68.1 years (range, 35-84) with urinary retention due to herp es tester(n = 6) or anogenital herpes simplex (n = 1) were studied. Si x patients had unilateral skin eruption in the saddle area (S2-4 derma tome) and one patient with herpes tester had a skin lesion in the L4-5 dermatome. All patients had detrusor areflexia without bladder sensat ion, and two of them had inactive external sphincter on electromyograp hy at presentation. Clean intermittent catheterization was performed, and voiding function was recovered in 4-6 weeks (average, 5.4) in all patients. Urodynamic study was repeated after recovery of micturition in three patients, and they returned to normal on cystometrography and external sphincter electromyography. Acute urinary retention associat ed with anogenital herpes infection has been thought to occur when the meninges or sacral spinal ganglia were involved, and, in conclusion, this condition may be considered to be reversible. Neurourol. Urodynam . 17:613-619, 1998. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.