Urinary retention seen in ~5% of posterior lumbar surgeries

(HealthDay)—The risk of developing postoperative urinary retention (POUR) after posterior lumbar spine surgery is approximately 5 percent, with certain patient factors associated with higher risk, according to a study published in the Oct. 15 issue of Spine.

Sapan D. Gandhi, M.D., from William Beaumont Health System in Royal Oak, Mich., and colleagues retrospectively reviewed all posterior lumbar surgery cases performed at single institute from July 2008 to July 2012 to examine the patient and surgical factors associated with the development of POUR.

The researchers identified 647 patients (291 decompression, 356 decompression and fusion cases). Urinary retention was seen in 5.6 percent of patients after lumbar spine surgery. Longer lengths of stay were seen in patients who developed POUR compared with patients who did not (3.94 versus 2.34 days). There was a significant association between male sex, benign prostatic hyperplasia, age, diabetes, and depression and development of POUR (odds ratios [ORs], 3.05, 9.82, 1.04, 3.32, and 2.51, respectively). There was an inverse relationship between smoking and the development of POUR (OR, 0.45).

"Surgeons should take precautions with certain patients who may be at high risk for developing complications associated with POUR," the authors write.

Relevant financial activities outside the submitted work were disclosed: board membership,
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