Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 May 10:8:75.
doi: 10.4103/sni.sni_5_17. eCollection 2017.

Preventive effect of tamsulosin on postoperative urinary retention in neurosurgical patients

Azam Basheer  1 , Mohammed Alsaidi  1 , Lonni Schultz  2 , Mokbel Chedid  1 , Muwaffak Abdulhak  1 , Donald Seyfried  1
Affiliations

Preventive effect of tamsulosin on postoperative urinary retention in neurosurgical patients

Azam Basheer et al. Surg Neurol Int. .

Abstract

Background: Postoperative urinary retention (POUR) is common in neurosurgical patients. The use of alpha-blockade therapy, such as tamsulosin, has benefited many patients with a history of obstructive uropathy by decreasing lower urinary tract symptoms such as distension, infections, and stricture formation, as well as the incidence of POUR. For this study, we targeted patients who had undergone spinal surgery to examine the prophylactic effects of tamsulosin. Increased understanding of this therapy will assist in minimizing the morbidity of spinal surgery.

Methods: We enrolled 95 male patients undergoing spine surgery in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either preoperative tamsulosin (N = 49) or a placebo (N = 46) and then followed-up prospectively for the development of POUR after removal of an indwelling urinary catheter (IUC). They were also followed-up for the incidence of IUC reinsertions.

Results: The rate of developing POUR was similar in both the groups. Of the 49 patients given tamsulosin, 16 (36%) developed POUR compared to 13 (28%) from the control group (P = 0.455). In the control group, 5 (11%) patients had IUC re-inserted postoperatively, whereas 7 (14%) patients in the tamsulosin group had IUC re-inserted postoperatively (P = 0.616). In patients suffering from axial-type symptoms (i.e., mechanical back pain), 63% who received tamsulosin and 18% from the control group (P = 0.048) developed POUR.

Conclusion: Overall, there was no statistically significant difference in the rates of developing POUR among patients in either group. POUR is caused by a variety of factors, and further studies are needed to shed light on its etiology.

Keywords: Adrenergic alpha-antagonists; indwelling urinary catheter; neurosurgery; postoperative urinary retention; tamsulosin; urinary retention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ahmad MM, Wani HA, Jeelani A, Thakur S, Waseem M, Nazir I. Preventive effect of tamsulosin on postoperative urinary retention in benign anorectal surgeries. Saudi Surg J. 2014;2:33–7.
    1. Alsaidi M, Guanio J, Basheer A, Schultz L, Adulhak M, Nerenz D, et al. The incidence and risk factors for postoperative urinary retention in neurosurgical patients. Surg Neurol Int. 2013;4:61. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Balderi T, Mistraletti G, D’Angelo E, Carli F. Incidence of postoperative urinary retention (POUR) after joint arthroplasty and management using ultrasound-guided bladder catheterization. Minerva Anestesiol. 2011;77:1050–7. - PubMed
    1. Baldini G, Bagry H, Aprikian A, Carli F. Postoperative urinary retention anesthetic and perioperative considerations. Anesthesiology. 2009;110:1139–57. - PubMed
    1. Boulis NM, Mian FS, Rodriguez D, Cho E, Hoff JT. Urinary retention following routine neurosurgical spine procedures. Surg Neurol. 2001;55:23–7. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources