Fowler's syndrome of urinary retention: A retrospective study of co-morbidity

Ingrid Hoeritzauer, Jon Stone, Clare Fowler, Suzy Elneil-Coker, Alan Carson, Jalesh Panicker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

AIMS: To study the frequency of pain, psychological, or functional disorders in patients with Fowler's syndrome.

METHODS: We carried out a retrospective chart review of patients with a diagnosis of Fowler's syndrome attending the Uro-Neurology centre at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery between 2009 and 2013 looking at triggering events, physical and psychological comorbidities.

RESULTS: Of 62 patients with clinical and electromyographic diagnosis of Fowler's syndrome, 31 (50%) had unexplained chronic pain syndromes, 12 (19%) of these were taking opiates. Fifteen (24%) had "functional" neurological symptoms. Abdominopelvic surgery with general anesthesia was the leading trigger (n = 21, 35%).

CONCLUSIONS: We found high levels of co-morbidity with patients having some form of pain (50%), a probable functional disorder (24%), or psychological symptoms (31%). There are several potential explanations for this association including the effect of developing an apparently unexplained distressing condition, confounding effect of opiate use or referral bias. The findings suggest a need for prospective systematic study of comorbidity for this disabling condition. Neurourol. Urodynam. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNeurourology and urodynamics
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Apr 2015

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