Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41853068›Full record

ArticleVisceral medicine2026

A Randomized Controlled Study on the Impact of Early Urinary Catheter Removal on Postoperative Urinary Retention in Abdominal and Thoracic Surgery Patients with Thoracic Epidural Analgesia.

Ahmed Alwali, Clemens Schafmayer, Ernst Klar, Mark Philipp, Matthias Leuchter, Eberhard Grambow

Erratum issuedAbstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Visceral medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ahmed AlwaliDepartment of General, Visceral, Thoracic, Vascular and Transplant Surgery, University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Clemens SchafmayerDepartment of General, Visceral, Thoracic, Vascular and Transplant Surgery, University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Ernst KlarDepartment of General, Visceral, Thoracic, Vascular and Transplant Surgery, University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Mark PhilippDepartment of General, Visceral, Thoracic, Vascular and Transplant Surgery, University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Matthias LeuchterInstitute for Biostatistics and Informatics in Medicine and Ageing Research, University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Eberhard GrambowDepartment of General, Visceral, Thoracic, Vascular and Transplant Surgery, University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) is a key component of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocols for major abdominal and thoracic procedures. Despite its benefits for pain management, TEA has been associated with an increased risk of postoperative urinary retention (POUR). Consequently, it is common practice to maintain a urinary catheter (UC) for the duration of TEA. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of early UC removal in patients receiving TEA through a randomized controlled trial. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial approved by the Rostock University Medical Center Ethics Board (AZ A2018-0220), patients scheduled for elective major abdominal or thoracic surgery with anticipated TEA within 1 year were enrolled. Participants were randomized into two groups: the early removal group (ERG), where the UC was removed within 48 h post-surgery, and the standard group (SG), where the UC was retained until TEA discontinuation. POUR was defined as a residual urine volume of ≥400 mL measured by ultrasound, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) were assessed. Results: Of the 99 patients initially enrolled, 81 patients were available for analysis. In the ERG ( Conclusion: Our results suggest that early UC removal under TEA is safe and does not significantly increase the risk of POUR while reducing the incidence of CAUTIs. These findings support the feasibility of early UC removal in this patient population and may inform future guidelines on perioperative UC management in the context of TEA.

Indexed as

Enhanced recovery after surgeryEpidural analgesiaUrinary catheterUrinary retentionUrinary tract infection

Identifiers

PMID41853068
PMCPMC12995378

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.