Antenatal urinary retention: risk factors, treatment, and effect on pelvic floor dysfunction

Objective: Physiological changes to the urinary tract begin early in the first trimester and continue throughout pregnancy. Bladder symptoms vary throughout pregnancy and can remain after the puerperium. Antenatal urinary retention is a severe form of pelvic floor dysfunction and research into this topic is sparse. Little is known about the longer-term effects of antenatal urinary retention on pelvic floor dysfunction. This study aimed to establish the incidence of and risk factors for antenatal urinary retention in our population, and whether this had any impact on pelvic floor dysfunction. Study design: This was a cross-sectional study. Women were included if they were currently pregnant when they required catheterisation-either indwelling, intermittent self-catheterisation or both. The Australian Pelvic Floor Questionnaire was posted to all women. No follow-up reminders were sent and any woman who did not return their questionnaire was recorded as a non-responder. Results: From January 2016 to December 2020, 41 women were identified as needing some form of catheterisation for treatment of antenatal urinary retention. During the same period, 44,646 women attended the National Maternity Hospital, giving an incidence of antenatal urinary retention of 0.92/1000 pregnancies. Questionnaire results were available for 25 women. One woman did not respond to one question, giving 99.9% complete data. The median (range) total pelvic floor score was 4.6 (0.2-10.7). Risk factors for antenatal urinary retention were identified in ten women. Most women denied any specific bladder symptoms, including difficulty in voiding and a feeling of incomplete emptying. Conclusions: Antenatal urinary retention is an uncommon form of pelvic floor dysfunction and occurs in 1-in-1000 pregnancies. Most women with antenatal urinary retention can be treated with an indwelling catheter for a short period, with only one in four women requiring intermittent self-catheterisation. Retention typically occurs in the late first and early second trimester, and while some risk factors have been identified, most women appear to have an uncomplicated pregnancy before developing acute urinary retention. Reassuringly, long-term pelvic floor dysfunction is minimal in women who experience antenatal urinary retention.</p

Childhood trauma, the HPA axis and psychiatric illnesses: a targeted literature synthesis

Studies of early life stress (ELS) demonstrate the long-lasting effects of acute and chronic stress on developmental trajectories. Such experiences can become biologically consolidated, creating individual vulnerability to psychological and psychiatric issues later in life. The hippocampus, amygdala, and the medial prefrontal cortex are all important limbic structures involved in the processes that undermine mental health. Hyperarousal of the sympathetic nervous system with sustained allostatic load along the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis and its connections has been theorized as the basis for adult psychopathology following early childhood trauma. In this review we synthesize current understandings and hypotheses concerning the neurobiological link between childhood trauma, the HPA axis, and adult psychiatric illness. We examine the mechanisms at play in the brain of the developing child and discuss how adverse environmental stimuli may become biologically incorporated into the structure and function of the adult brain via a discussion of the neurosequential model of development, sensitive periods and plasticity. The HPA connections and brain areas implicated in ELS and psychopathology are also explored. In a targeted review of HPA activation in mood and psychotic disorders, cortisol is generally elevated across mood and psychotic disorders. However, in bipolar disorder and psychosis patients with previous early life stress, blunted cortisol responses are found to awakening, psychological stressors and physiological manipulation compared to patients without previous early life stress. These attenuated responses occur in bipolar and psychosis patients on a background of increased cortisol turnover. Although cortisol measures are generally raised in depression, the evidence for a different HPA activation profile in those with early life stress is inconclusive. Further research is needed to explore the stress responses commonalities between bipolar disorder and psychosis in those patients with early life stress. </p

Investigating the effectiveness of oral ketamine on pain, mood and quality of life in treatment resistant chronic pain

Introduction: Chronic pain is defined as pain lasting longer than 3 months. This often causes persistent emotional distress and functional disability that is refractory to conventional treatments. Emerging evidence suggests that oral Ketamine therapy may have a specific role in managing treatment-resistant chronic pain. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of oral ketamine within a tertiary chronic pain management clinic. Methods: This study was a clinic-based retrospective descriptive study of 79 patients with a broad range of chronic pain diagnoses and treated with oral ketamine over a period up to 12 years. Changes in pain, mood and quality of life (QoL) were assessed using a numerical pain severity score, the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), the Public Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and American Chronic Pain Association Quality of Life (QoL) scale. Results: 73 patients were accessible for follow-up (mean daily dose and treatment duration were 193.84 mg and 22.6 months respectively). Pain scores decreased (p p Discussion: This work adds to the growing body of evidence that under the supervision of a pain specialist, oral ketamine therapy may be a safe, tolerable and effective treatment for chronic pain conditions which have not responded to other management options. Further research is required to produce a more accurate understanding of its chronic use. Key message: This real-world study shows that patients being treated with oral ketamine for chronic pain report decreased severity of pain, improved mood and increased quality of life across all conditions.</p