Intraperitoneal Urinary Bladder Perforation Observed in a Patient with an Indwelling Urethral Catheter

This report describes a rare case of an 86-year-old man with an indwelling urethral catheter who developed severe abdominal pain and was diagnosed with intraperitoneal urinary bladder perforation. A home-visiting nurse suspected catheter obstruction and performed a catheter exchange. However, bladder irrigation could not subsequently be performed. Computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis after transurethral perfusion of contrast medium demonstrated extravasation of the contrast material into the peritoneal cavity. Furthermore, the Foley catheter balloon was positioned in the peritoneal cavity through the bladder. The patient was diagnosed with peritonitis due to spontaneous intraperitoneal perforation of the urinary bladder, and exploratory laparotomy was performed. During exploration, a perforated tear at the top of the bladder was discovered where the Foley catheter had penetrated the bladder. The Foley catheter balloon was floating freely in the peritoneal cavity. There was no evidence of pathologic lesions, such as cancer or inflammatory mass at the site of the injured peritoneum. Successful closure of the damaged peritoneum and bladder was performed. Since the proportion of elderly individuals continues to increase in the general Japanese population, the incidence of the chronic Foley catheterization is expected to increase. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of this potential complication.