[Complete retention of urine of sudden onset secondary to herpes genitalis infection (author's transl)].

The authors report three cases of complete urinary retention of sudden onset during a herpes genitalis infection secondary to traumatic sexual relations. In practice, the diagnosis was made in the absence of any urological cause, the presence of local signs indicative of herpetic infection of the genital organs and lumbar puncture. Mictional disturbances disappeared in 2 to 3 weeks without leaving any sequelae. The possibility of nervous system complications in genital herpes infections has been know since 1904. By contrast, disturbances in micturition have been reported much more recently, in 1953. Complete urinary retention of sudden onset is not rare: 17 cases out of a series of 486 cases of genital infection. This may be the only clinical sign of nervous system involvement. Urinary retention develops between a few days and 3 weeks after the onset of genital herpes. Neurological examination of the lower limbs is normal. There may be transient impotence in the male and loss of the bulbo-cavernosus reflexes and impaired sensation in an S2-S3 distribution. Bladder tone is spontaneously hypoactive and increases following the injection of Urecholine. The herpes virus (HSV) is found only during the acute phase of the genital infection but almost never a few days later, when urinary retention develops.