Blood in urinne of quadraplegic

[zinniaxxxx]

My husband is a quadraplegic.  He has a suprapubic tube inserted into his bladder.  For the last six days he has had blood in his urine. A round of Cipro has made no difference.  What should be done now?  What could be the cause?

[rmprdl1964]

Hi,

I have the same problem from time to time. The cause was allways thought to be an infection and Cipro has done the job in the past. How long had your husband been on Cipro for and what strenght did they give him? It is possible that an infection is still not cleared up.
It might help to get a urine analysis done and blood work to determine what is taking place. Talk to your GP about this, he might send him for a cystoscopy to see what is causing this.

I have had a few occasions where the catheter got pulled by accident causing bleeding from the site where the catheter enters. My example is that I use a cane for ballance, On one occasion I was getting ready to go into the tub. While trying to put my cane down and grab the handle in the tub for support, the cane fell and got hooked on the catheter and leg bag tubing. Right away after I got into the water, I noticed blood coming from the catheter, which lasted for about three days. Remember only a small amount of blood is needed to turn the urine quite red.

For the last few months I have had constant pain from bladder spasms and cramping in the pubic region. If I apply a light pulling force on the catheter, the pain subsides. Again I have noticed some bleeding from time to time and I have also noticed occasional bleeding at the stoma. I will consult with the GP next Monday. The GP has been at a loss of suggestions dealing with the constant pain that I experience.

It is best for your husband to be seen by a GP or have a GP send him to the urologist. As doctor Singh has pointed out, there can be many different possibilities. Waiting untill things get worse is not a good idea. I have been dumb enough to have done that and ended up with more serious problems due to me having delayed medical treatment. This said, at times I was thought to have an infection and had been given Cipro 500mg. three times a day for several weeks because the urine sample was contaminated. Collecting a urine sample from the suprapubic catheter is difficult to do without contamination.

The other important issue is that the catheter should be change frequently. I have a homecare nurse who changes mine every 6 weeks. Even with that frequency there have been infections. In the case of an infection, there are indicators like having a burning sensation or a sensation of the need to empty the bladder even though the bladder is empty, which should be empty if a suprapubic catheter is in place.

I sincerely hope that a diagnosis can be made soon and that your husband is in the process of getting better. I know all too well how these kind of things effect one's quality of life.

All the best and God bless,

Ron

[Dr J Singh]

Hello,
Blood in urine is called hematuria and the cause has to be found out. Hematuria or blood in the urine can be caused by bleeding from anywhere along the urinary tract. The most common cause is an infection because of the inflammation in the urinary tract.

Urinary stones can cause abrasion and irritation resulting in hematuria. Other possible cause is a kidney condition called glomerulonephritis. I would suggest that you consult your Doctor so further investigation can be done. You Doctor may request for some blood tests, urinalysis, urine culture, and an ultrasound or CT scan.

I hope it helps. Take care and regards.