Delayed Diagnosis of Neurological Bladder following Spinal Cord Injury without Radiological Abnormality

Abstract

Spinal cord injuries are a well-known cause of neurological bladder and a well-known complication of high-velocity trauma. They can, however, be difficult to diagnose in young children, in whom the absence of initial neurological symptoms and normality of the radiological workup can be falsely reassuring. Management of associated injuries can further delay diagnosis. We present 2 cases of spinal cord injuries without radiological abnormality revealed by delayed bladder retention.

Comment on the Paper by Abbo et al. Entitled ‘Delayed Diagnosis of Neurologic Bladder following Spinal Cord Injury without Radiologic Abnormality'

“…The paper by Abbo et al [1] highlights the difficulty of detecting spinal cord injuries in young children, specifically when injury to other organ systems may hinder the neurological examination. It is not clear if this was a spinal cord injury without radiologic abnormality since the imaging was not done early in the course of the injury.…”