acute urinary retention in a 3 year old

my 3 year old son woke up one day and could not pass urine.he was admitted to hospital and had MRI scan,x rays,ultra sound scans and finally a camera into bladder. nothing was found. we are now at home with a catheter insitu and not sure whats next.can anyone shed any light on this   many thanks

[dr_simran]

Hello dear,
Urinary retention in children is a relatively rare entity but there is a significant incidence of neurological abnormalities in this population. If a clear reason for this condition cannot be delineated based on history, physical examination and laboratory assessment, these patients should undergo prompt neurological evaluation and appropriate imaging studies.
Refer http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11176514

Best

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Acute urinary retention is a rare entity in children. Many times the cause is unknown, in some cases causes like lower urinary tract stone and ureterocoele has been identified.
Urinary tract stone has been found to be more common in boys than girls.
Neurological disorders and trauma are other causes.

[feefee365]

thank you for your reply iv read a report in BMJ saying an unusual cause of this as appendicitis  would this  have shown up in the ultra sound scans or is a CT scan the only way to see this