Inability to urinate due to clots in the bladder (bladder tamponade)

What is it about ?

Bladder tamponade means the bladder is full of blood clots that prevent urine from passing through. Clots are caused by hemorrhage following an intervention in the bladder, such as removing a tumor or removing the prostate, inserting a catheter, or puncturing the bladder.

How to recognize it?

After surgery on the bladder, you suddenly cannot more to urinate. Often before you have lost blood in urine : your urine was pinkish to bright red. As clots and urine build up in the bladder, pain increases in the lower abdomen. There may be a blood clot visible at the opening of the urethra.

How is the diagnosis made?

THE’inability to urinate after an intervention is enough to think of the possibility of tamponade.

What can your doctor do?

Treatment requires emergency hospitalization. It is indeed possible that the bleeding did not stop. Serum is administered to ensure sufficient water intake. A catheter is placed in the bladder: this allows the bladder to be rinsed several times to remove clots. In case of persistent bleeding, a new intervention will be necessary. In some cases, tranexamic acid, a drug that promotes clotting, is prescribed to stop the bleeding.

What can you do ?

After being operated on, if you are unable (or no longer) to urinate as before, if you see blood in your urine and / or if you have severe pain in the lower abdomen, contact a doctor (your general practitioner, a urologist, a day care service or the emergency room).

Want to know more?

• Tranexamic acid – CBIP – Belgian Center for Pharmacotherapeutic Information

Source

Foreign clinical practice guide ‘Bladder tamponade (acute retention of urine by bladder blood clots)’ (2000), updated on 12.11.2016 and adapted to the Belgian context on 01.10.2019 – ebpracticenet