Complications of permanent bladder catheter drainage in spinal cord injury patients.

We reviewed the effect of permanent bladder catheter drainage on the course of 59 long-term spinal cord injury patients. Current renal function, findings on excretory urography and major renal, bladder, genital and urethral complications were tabulated. Although all long-term spinal cord injury patients had severe renal function, depression and abnormal excretory urograms patients with indwelling bladder catheters had a significantly higher complication rate than those managed without an indwelling catheter.