Acute urinary retention in women due to urethral calculi: A rare case

Abstract

Abstract:We present a case of a 51-year-old woman with acute urinary retention caused by a urethral calculus. Urethral calculi in women are extremely rare and are usually formed in association with underlying genitourinary pathology. In this case, however, no pathology was detected via thorough urological evaluation. We discuss the pathogenesis, clinical presentation and treatment of urethral calculi. To our knowledge, this is the second reported case of a primary urethral calculus in a female with an anatomically normal urinary tract and the first in a middle-aged Caucasian female.

An Uncommon Location for a Urinary Tract Stone: Urethral Stone

“…Urinary tract stones are most commonly located in the upper urinary tract. In rare cases (0.3-2%) they can be located in the urethra [1]. Urethral stones are more frequent in males because of specific anatomy and length.…”

Experience of a Tertiary-Level Urology Center in the Clinical Urological Events of Rare and Very Rare Incidence. VI. Unusual Events in Urolithiasis: 1. Long-Standing Urethral Stones without Underlying Anatomical Abnormalities in Male Children

“…In very rare occasions, the impacted stone could be misdiagnosed as urinary tract infections and may be neglected for long-term periods with or without anatomical abnormalities [5, 6]. Naturally, the male urethra has a considerable length and a complex anatomy that make a migratory urinary stone more prone to impaction in males rather than in females [2, 7]. Although urethral stones are, generally, a rare cause of lower urinary tract symptoms including urinary retention [8], they may be a relatively common cause in the developing countries with low socioeconomic standards, which have high prevalence of urolithiasis [1, 3, 5, 9].…”

“…Urethral stones, however, represent only 0.3–2% of all urinary stones [2]. They are mainly formed in the upper urinary tract or the urinary bladder and migrate downward with the urinary stream to the outside through the urethra [3, 4].…”