• Dominick Trombetta, Kathleen Garrett, and Marissa Harrison.
• Department of Pharmacy Practice, Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy College of Pharmacy and Nursing, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
• Consult Pharm. 2013 Oct 1; 28 (10): 661-9.

AbstractNew-onset urinary retention can typically be explained by the use of the routine normally suspected medications (e.g., anticholinergics, antihistamines). However, selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors are not typically presumed as the cause of acute urinary retention (AUR). The following case describes the introduction of escitalopram in a patient and the subsequent development of AUR. Medical causes of urinary retention had been ruled out, and ipratropium was initially suspected to be the cause of urinary difficulties and was discontinued. However, the retention persisted four days after suspending the ipratropium. Normal micturition resumed only after stopping the escitalopram without further need for catheterization. Escitalopram may cause rare cases of AUR and may often times be overlooked possibly because of the paucity of reporting.

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