Abstract

Background
: Primary bladder repair with a suprapubic catheter is considered to be effective for managing intraperitoneal bladder ruptures. We compared the outcomes obtained by using an indwelling suprapubic and urethral catheter together with those obtained by using an indwelling urethral catheter only for injuries. Methods : We reviewed the medical records of 45 intraperitoneal bladder rupture patients who had been treated during the period from May 1995 to April 2000. The patient characteristics, the mechanism of injury, the associated injuries, the duration of catheter indwelling, and the complications were reviewed. Results : The mean age of the patients was 41.2 years old, and the most common cause of bladder rupture was traffic accidents (28 cases, 62%). There were 42 (93%) intraperitoneal bladder ruptures, and 3 (7%) were combined with extraperitoneal bladder rupture. After primary bladder repair, the bladder was drained with a suprapubic and a urethral catheter together in 20 cases (44%) and with only a urethral catheter in 25 cases (66%). There were no significant differences between these 2 groups with respect to mechanism of injury, patient’s age, associated injury, or the bladder repair technique. The location of the injury was the bladder dome in all cases and the mean length of the bladder tear were 6.0 cm in the suprapubic and urethral catheter group while it was 6.2 cm in the urethral catheter only group (p=0.695). Also, the mean duration of drainage was 14.1 days in the suprapubic and urethral catheter group and 15.6 days in the urethral catheter only group (p=0.365). A urethral stricture occurred in 1 (2%) of the 45 patient in the suprapubic and urethral catheter together group. Conclusion : We conclude that intraperitoneal bladder ruptures can be successfully managed with primary repair of the injury and use of an indwelling urethral catheter alone.

• Keywords: Bladder rupture, Intraperitoneal, Suprapubic catheter, Urethral catheter