Morbidity and the impact on daily activities associated with catheter drainage after acute urinary retention

Objective To evaluate the effect on quality of life of being discharged hom e with a catheter before definitive treatment in patients with acute urinar y retention (AUR). Patients and methods Patients attending the emergency department with AUR w ere assessed and discharged home with a catheter if they fulfilled predeter mined criteria. They were admitted to the day-care unit for urological asse ssment and completed a disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaire. Results Of 101 patients presenting to the emergency department in AUR, 84 w ere sent home after catheterization (83%); 78 (93%) patients completed the questionnaire. The major side-effects reported were urinary leak (46%), mil d haematuria (44%), urgency (42%), pain around the penis (42%), painful ere ction (31%) and catheter blockage (26%). Only 12% of patients felt having a catheter was very inconvenient and 93% would find it acceptable to have a catheter in future. Conclusion A significant minority of patients discharged home with a cathet er had side-effects related to their catheter but were not greatly inconven ienced, and their capacity to carry out normal daily activities was not imp aired. The immediate discharge of patients in AUR and planned treatment wil l enable better use of inpatient urology resources.