Post-void Bladder Scanning in Acute Cauda Equina Syndrome

Expedient diagnosis and management of acute cauda equina syndrome (CES) is essential to prevent long-term neurological sequelae for these patients. The clinical diagnosis of CES is confirmed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However the clinical features of CES (secondary to bladder and bowel sphincter dysfunction) are variable and are common presenting features of other pathologies of the bladder and bowel, therefore most patients who undergo MRI for suspected CES have no compressive lesion evident on the MRI, excluding the diagnosis of CES. Urgent MRI scanning performed out of hours is therefore often unnecessary, however, the morbidity to the patient due to a delay in diagnosis is so significant that urgent MRI scanning is the current gold standard and duty of care in all cases of suspected CES. More objective methods of assessing patients with suspected acute CES could allow rationing of out of hours MRI scanning and reduce inappropriate admission without impacting patient safety.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a clinical algorithm which utilises digital rectal examination and ultrasound bladder scanning to stratify patients into high and low risk groups. Patients considered high risk will be admitted and sent for urgent MRI, whereas low risk patients will be discharged and undergo MRI scan within 5 days of presentation.