Regular ICT and bladder fullness

[tincan]

Hi, I'm a second year nursing student currently on a spinal ward. Nice to meet you all. :) I have been reading posts here on-and-off and decided to ask a question today.

My patient had epidural abscess and has bladder incontinence as a result. She cannot feel her bladder getting full so regular ICT (intermittent catheterization) is needed. I'm just wondering what are the implications for doing regular ICTs other than the following?

- prevent the bladder from overfilling -> stretches the bladder -> stretches the sphincter to ureter / possible backflow to kidneys?

- prevent urinary tract infection (from decreased urine flow and clearance)

I just wanted to make sure I'm not over-thinking it (as I end up over-thinking all the time and end up slowing myself down...)

Thanks for any input in advance. :redpinkhe

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

How high is the abscess and where is the spinal cord pressure?

What sorts of complications can arise from pressure on those areas?

See if dysreflexia is a possibility- as this could be extremely dangerous....

Good luck :)

[tincan]

The patient got C2-Conus epidural abscess, so it's really high. I don't know where the spinal cord pressure point is, but since it's affecting her whole spine (almost) so no surgical intervention can be done and she is on antibiotics for treatment. She was admitted a month ago to ICU to treat sepsis secondary to the epidural abscess. She is ASIA C.

Thanks for mentioning dysreflexia! Now I know that preventing the bladder from getting too full can help prevent it.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

The patient got C2-Conus epidural abscess, so it's really high. I don't know where the spinal cord pressure point is, but since it's affecting her whole spine (almost) so no surgical intervention can be done and she is on antibiotics for treatment. She was admitted a month ago to ICU to treat sepsis secondary to the epidural abscess. She is ASIA C.

Thanks for mentioning dysreflexia! Now I know that preventing the bladder from getting too full can help prevent it.

Yeah, dysreflexia can be extremely dangerous, and one of the big causes is an overfull bladder Being a high abscess, and it is HIGH makes it a legit problem to address.