Acute urinary retention in two patients with imperforate hymen

Congenital anomalies causing hemato/hydrocolpos: imaging findings, treatments, and outcomes

Hemato/hydrocolpos due to congenital urogenital anomalies are rare conditions discovered in neonatal, infant, and adolescent girls. Diagnosis is often missed or delayed owing to its rare incidence and nonspecific symptoms. If early correct diagnosis and treatment cannot be performed, late complications such as tubal adhesion, pelvic endometriosis, and infertility may develop. Congenital urogenital anomalies causing hemato/hydrocolpos are mainly of four types: imperforate hymen, distal vaginal agenesis, transverse vaginal septum, and obstructed hemivagina and ipsilateral renal anomaly, and clinicians should have adequate knowledge about these anomalies. This article aimed to review the diagnosis and treatment of these urogenital anomalies by describing embryology, clinical presentation, imaging findings, surgical management, and postoperative outcomes.

Emergency point-of-care ultrasound diagnosis of hematocolpometra and imperforate hymen in the pediatric emergency department

A 12-year-old girl presented to the pediatric emergency department with a history of difficulty voiding and was found to have a firm, tender suprapubic mass on examination. Transabdominal emergency point-of-care ultrasound was used at the bedside to diagnose hematocolpometra due to an imperforate hymen. The diagnosis was confirmed by a comprehensive abdominal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in the radiology suite. The patient was discharged on oral contraceptive medication and scheduled for an outpatient surgical hymenectomy following consultation with the gynecology service.

Acute urinary retention in an adolescent girl and important learning points

We presented a case of a 13-year-old girl who attended the emergency department with acute urinary retention and 1400 mL residual urine after catheterisation. She had no significant medical history, neurological examination was normal and she had not reached menarche. She was found to have a haematocolpos on ultrasound scan which was compressing the urinary bladder. Examination under anaesthesia confirmed an imperforate hymen and therefore an incision was performed and the haematocolpos drained. She managed to pass urine normally the day following her procedure. In this article, we emphasise on the differential diagnosis in this case and the learning points derived from it.

Imperforate hymen presenting as acute urinary retention in a 14-year-old nigerian girl

Acute urinary retention in adolescent females is rare, just like imperforate hymen. We present a case of acute urinary retention secondary to imperforate hymen in a 14-year-old Nigerian girl. Its diagnosis and treatment are discussed with a brief review of literature. We highlight the need for a thorough evaluation in the female patient presenting with acute urinary retention, and also the need to provide better health facilities in rural areas in developing countries such as ours.

Imperforate hymen: a cause of abdominal pain in female adolescents

A 16-year-old girl presented with primary amenorrhea and had had cyclical abdominal pain for almost a year. At examination we observed a painful mass in the lower abdomen and normal secondary sex characteristics. Perineal examination showed a bluish bulging hymen. Transabdominal ultrasonography revealed a dense mass in the pelvis measuring about 12×11 cm. We diagnosed an imperforate hymen with haematocolpos and haematometra. The hymen was opened surgically and a large quantity of menstrual blood was drained from the vagina and uterus. Postoperative recovery was normal without any pain. The patient now menstruates regularly. An imperforate hymen occurs in 0.05% of women. It is important to be aware of this while examining a female adolescent presenting with cyclical abdominal pain and primary amenorrhea. Late discovery of an imperforate hymen may lead to pain, infections, hydronephrosis and endometriosis with subfertility as a possible consequence.

Early detection of imperforate hymen prevents morbidity from delays in diagnosis

OBJECTIVE

Although it is detectable at all ages through inspection of the external genitalia, imperforate hymen (IH) is a diagnosis that is missed commonly. We hypothesized that children with late diagnoses (predefined as > or =8 years of age, chosen to reflect the timing of normal menarche) would be more likely to be symptomatic, undergo more diagnostic testing, and lack appropriate documentation in their medical records, compared with children with earlier diagnoses (ie, <8 years of age).

METHODS

All patients with IH were identified through searches of 3 hospital databases with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes. The medical records of eligible subjects were reviewed by a single, blinded researcher. Comparisons were made between children diagnosed at younger versus older ages.

RESULTS

A bimodal distribution of age at diagnosis was demonstrated; 43% (n = 10) of girls were diagnosed at <8 years of age, and 57% (n = 13) were diagnosed at > or =8 years of age. Among older girls, 100% were symptomatic (abdominal pain and/or urinary symptoms; duration of symptoms: 1-120 days), whereas 90% of cases in the younger group were detected incidentally. Documentation was lacking for breast development (77%), pubic hair development (69%), and menstrual history (46%) among the older girls. Older children were more likely to present symptomatically (odds ratio: 42.0; 95% confidence interval: 3.1-1965.7) and to undergo ancillary testing (odds ratio: 20.3; 95% confidence interval: 1.6-983.1).

CONCLUSIONS

Two distinct populations of girls with IH exist, ie, those diagnosed without symptoms at a young age and those not diagnosed until >8 years of age. By incorporating an examination of the external genitalia into their routine practice, clinicians caring for children can prevent the significant delays in diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and morbidity associated with the latter group.

Two cases of pyometrocolpos due to distal vaginal atresia

Children with pyometrocolpos due to distal vaginal atresia may present as acutely ill, with severe obstructive uropathy and septicemia. In such patients the clinical course is markedly improved by urgent drainage of the infected cystic mass, and a temporary drainage procedure is required to allow local findings of infection to subside before definitive surgery. We present two children with pyometrocolpos with the above-mentioned clinical course, in whom percutaneous drainage with computed tomography-guided catheter placement through the lower abdominal wall was performed because of the high risks of complex drainage procedures and general anesthesia. This drainage did result in dramatically improved clinical status, and findings of local inflammation resolved within 4-6 weeks, which facilitated a later successful definitive surgical procedure.

A case of retention of urine and haematocolpometra

SUMMARY

A 13-year-old local girl presented to the emergency department with a 12-h history of lower abdominal pain and inability to pass urine. Examination showed that she was in urinary retention and an imperforate hymen was found. Further investigation showed haematocolpos and haematometra. This is a rare cause of the retention of urine and the emergency physician should consider this condition in women between the ages of 12 and 18 years presenting with abdominal pain and obscure urinary complaints.