Two Pediatric Cases of Successful Management of Postictal Transient Urinary Retention

Abstract

We report two cases of postictal urinary retention in pediatric patients with cognitive impairment. Two girls with intellectual disabilities, concomitant cerebral palsy (case 1) and Rett syndrome (case 2), developed urinary retention following seizures. Their caregivers brought them to the hospital with complaints of abdominal distension. After excluding neurological progression, they were referred to the rehabilitation clinic for the evaluation and management of postictal urinary retention. We followed two different approaches in each case to restore normal urination. While serial manual cystometrograms were performed in case 1, clean intermittent catheterization with a voiding diary was performed in case 2 until restoration of normal urination. Based on these pediatric cases of successfully managed postictal urinary retention, we suggest that more attention may be needed for children with cognitive impairment to diagnose and manage postictal urinary retention.