Objective: To define the nature of micturition disturbance in patients with acute idiopathic autonomic neuropathy (AIAN).
Methods: Micturitional symptoms were observed during hospital admissions and the in outpatient clinics in six patients with clinically definite AIAN (typical form in four, cholinergic variant in one, autonomic-sensory variant in one). Urodynamic studies included medium-fill water cystometry, external sphincter electromyography, and a bethanechol test.
Results: Four patients had urinary retention and two had voiding difficulty as the initial presentation. Patients with retention became able to urinate within a week (two to seven days). The major symptoms at the time of urodynamic studies (three weeks to four months after disease onset in most cases) were voiding difficulty and nocturnal frequency. None had urinary incontinence. Complete recovery from the micturition disturbance took from three months to >18 years. The recovery period was shorter in a patient with cholinergic variant, and it was longer in two patients who had a longer duration of initial urinary retention. Micturition disturbance tended to improve earlier than orthostatic hypotension. The major urodynamic abnormalities were detrusor areflexia on voiding (5), denervation supersensitivity to bethanechol (3); low compliance detrusor (1); and impaired bladder sensation (2). None had neurogenic motor unit potentials of the external sphincter muscles.
Conclusions: In patients with AIAN, urinary retention and voiding difficulty are common initial presentations. The underlying mechanisms seem to be pre- and postganglionic cholinergic dysfunction with preservation of somatic sphincter function. The bladder problems tend to improve earlier than orthostatic hypotension.