Diagnosing the cause of incontinence in patients

Identifying the underlying cause of a patient’s incontinence can be difficult in general practice. Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CCFP, Elite FFCP-V, offered some guidance in an interview with dvm360.

During the interview, Marks discussed her talk “UrINe or UrOUT–Common Cases Involving Micturition Management,” which she presented at the Fetch dvm360 conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Marks explained that when determining the cause of incontinence, it is important to start with a thorough history and physical examination. According to Marks, neurogenic incontinence is often accompanied by loss of proprioception, hind limb paresis, pain, decreased reflexes and more, which can provide insight into where to look.

If you missed the Fetch dvm360 conference in Atlantic City, you can pre-register for our Pick-up-on-demand program, where you can access recordings of some sessions.

Below is a partial transcript

Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CCFP, Elite FFCP-V: So when we have a patient who is incontinent, it can sometimes be a challenge in general practice to determine the ultimate, primary cause behind it. What we so often do is, of course, start with a history and a really good physical examination, because if we have neurogenic incontinence, we often have a clue from the physical examination itself: we have conscious loss of proprioception, we have paresis in the posterior we have pain, we have reduced reflexes, we may even have paralysis – and often that gives us an idea where to look, and in those cases…referral, advanced imaging and follow-up treatment are done more at a specialty center.