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Case Reports
. 2018 Jan 11;2(1):55-57.
doi: 10.5811/cpcem.2017.11.36438. eCollection 2018 Feb.

Urinary Catheterization in Infants: When It's Knot so Simple

Affiliations
Case Reports

Urinary Catheterization in Infants: When It's Knot so Simple

David C Sheridan et al. Clin Pract Cases Emerg Med. .

Abstract

Pediatric fever is one of the most common presenting complaints to emergency departments (ED). While often due to a viral illness, in young children without a source the most common bacterial infection is pyelonephritis. For this reason, when no focal source can be identified a urinary specimen is recommended. In young children who are unable to urinate on demand, a straight catheter is required to obtain a sterile specimen. This is generally a benign procedure and is performed frequently in EDs. We report a case of a young girl who underwent straight bladder catheterization and was subsequently found to have a retained catheter that had become knotted in the bladder. This case report highlights a rare complication of this common procedure and describes the technique required to remove the catheter. An understanding of these issues may avoid the need for transfer to a pediatric facility or for subspecialty consultation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the CPC-EM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. The authors disclosed none.

Figures

Image
Image
Anteroposterior abdominal radiograph (arrows delineate the catheter location with knot)

References

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