Background:

Acute urinary retention is a common urologic emergency. It rarely presents in children, in whom it has been associated with a wide variety of causes, such as mechanical obstruction (stones or strictures), constipation, infection and inflammation, fecal impaction, neurologic and gynecologic diseases, malignancy, or behavioral or idiopathic etiology, among others.

Clinical case:

A 2-year-old boy, with no family history of kidney stones, presented with sudden abdominal pain accompanied by crying during micturition. Cystostomy was performed in the emergency room and the patient was referred to the specialist at our hospital center for evaluation. Physical examination revealed a foreign body in the urethra. Urethrocystoscopy was immediately carried out with a pediatric urethrocystoscope, and a stone in the anterior urethra was found.

Discussion:

Urinary stones in children are an uncommon pathology and are rarely a cause of acute urinary retention (2%). It is more common in boys and in the anterior urethra. Pediatric patients with posterior urethral stones have continuous urine dripping and those with anterior urethral stones present with acute urinary retention. The use of endoscopic equipment is safe for resolving urethral stones and should be considered the first treatment option, when available.