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Urodynamic findings and therapeutic approaches for neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction in patients with thoracic spinal cord injury

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Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate urodynamic examination results and treatment methods of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) in patients with traumatic thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods

Ninety-one patients with traumatic thoracic SCI were included in the study. The urodynamic analyses of the patients were conducted retrospectively using their laboratory outcomes. The patients were divided into subgroups according to the sensory innervation of the bladder (T1–10/T11–12), the preservation of sensory functions in the sacral segment (complete lesion/incomplete lesion), and the duration of injury (< 6 months/ ≥ 6 months) and evaluations in subgroups were carried out.

Results

A total of 91 patients (69 males, 22 females) were included in the study. When comparing between the subgroups, the sense of bladder fullness was preserved more in the T11–T12 group with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). While storage disorder, the rate of indwelling catheter use during hospitalization, bacterial growth of 105 CFU/ml in the urine culture, and anticholinergic drug recommendation after urodynamic examination were higher in the complete lesion group, the rate of spontaneous/catheter-free voiding, the number of patients in which sense of bladder fullness was preserved-partially preserved, and alpha-blocker drug recommendation after urodynamic examination was higher in the incomplete lesion group, with a statistically significant difference in all parameters (all p values < 0.05).

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that there are differences in neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction features in subgroups of traumatic thoracic SCI patients. Regular urinary system evaluation and necessary changes in treatment should be carried out in this patient group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hitit University Erol Olçok Training and Research Hospital, 19200, Çorum, Turkey

    Ebru Erden

  2. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey

    Murat Ersöz

  3. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hitit University School of Medicine, Çorum, Turkey

    Ender Erden

  4. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Tülay Tiftik

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  1. Ebru Erden
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  2. Murat Ersöz
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  3. Ender Erden
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The authors declare that they have all participated in the design, execution, and analysis of the paper, and that they have approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Ender Erden.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

The approval for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee (date: November 16, 2016, decision no: 1092/2016). Since the study has a retrospective design, no written informed consent form was obtained from patients. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Erden, E., Ersöz, M., Erden, E. et al. Urodynamic findings and therapeutic approaches for neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction in patients with thoracic spinal cord injury. Ir J Med Sci 192, 2513–2520 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-022-03239-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-022-03239-9

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