Bladder management practice for spinal cord injury patients

The spinal cord is to relay messages between the brain and the rest of the boy. When spinal cord injury happens the body may lose some essential functions if the nerves can’t communicate with the brain.

Inadequate bladder management of spinal cord injury (SCI) results in medical complications, psychological stress and even mortality. Frequent leakage of urine causes soiling of clothes and smell, skin breakdown and pressure ulcers. Appropriate bladder management and voiding program are required for these patients.

Most of the SCI patients develop a neurogenic bladder. The main aim of managing a neurogenic bladder in spinal cord injury is to maintain continence, avoiding or minimizing urinary infections and to avoid renal damage by maintaining a low bladder pressure. Different bladder management options available include clean intermittent catheterization (CIC), supra public catheterization, indwelling catheterization, use of external condom catheter for men, timed voiding etc. Patients make their choices depending upon ease of use, comfort, cost, availability and complications.

CIC is the preferred choice for neurogenic bladder management in SCI patients. It decreases the risk of urinary tract infections and renal damage.This method requires the patient to have good hand function and dexterity in order to self catheterize every four to six hours. Before CIC, a noninvasive bladder scan to quantitatively determine residual urine volumes would decrease unnecessary catheterizations. Use of noninvasive ultrasonic bladder scanning device together with CIC is a preferred rehabilitation plan for SCI patients.