Mortality Is High in Men with Acute Urinary Retention

Surprisingly little is known about long-term outcomes in men who develop acute urinary retention. In this study, investigators analyzed hospital databases to determine 1-year outcomes among 176,046 men (age, ≥45) hospitalized with first episodes of acute urinary retention.

Overall, one in seven men with spontaneous retention (i.e., a primary diagnosis of acute urinary retention or benign prostatic hyperplasia) and one in four with precipitated retention (all events unrelated to prostatic hyperplasia) died within 1 year of the hospitalization. Mortality increased with age: Among men with spontaneous retention, 1-year mortality was 4% in those aged 45 to 54 and 33% in those aged 85 and older. Among men with precipitated retention, these rates …