Katherine Falcon
Introduction
Post-Operative Urinary Retention (POUR) is the inability to void despite having a full bladder and requiring catheterisation. It can lead to discomfort, infection and delayed discharge. According to the international-multicentre-study (RETAINER-I-2023), POUR was reported in 5.8% of men and 2.97% of women who underwent inguinal hernia surgery (IHR). This audit has explored our experience in this context.
Methods
This retrospective study was conducted at the Princess Royal University Hospital between October-2023 and February-2026. It has included adults who underwent elective (open or laparoscopic) day-case IHR under general anaesthesia over the study period. We have excluded recurrent hernia, spinal/local anaesthesia, paediatric and emergency cases. Patients' comorbidities were also reviewed.
Results
The initial cohort included 629 patients; of which, 15 patients (2.3%) had POUR.14/15 (93.3%) patients were >50 years old. 14/15 (93.3%) were male and 1/15 (6.7%) was female. Procedures were performed by senior surgeons in 73.3% of the cases. The mean anaesthetic time was 68 minutes, and the mean time to discharge was 2.3 days. The most common comorbidities in the POUR group were hypertension (46.7%), neurological pathologies (33.3%), chronic kidney disease (13.3%), and diabetes (6.7%).
Conclusion
The incidence of POUR following elective day-case inguinal hernia repair was 2.3%, which lies within the international published figures. Independent risk factors were age >50 years, operative duration of >60 min, and multiple comorbidities. Increased awareness of the modifiable risk factors may help to identify patients at increased risk of POUR. The formal consent process should always include POUR as a possibility.
Authors
Katherine Falcon, Beebee Mubarak Jan, Ahmad Al-Samaraee
King's College NHS Foundation Trust, Bromley, United Kingdom