Pseudoreflux and detrusor overactivity due to accidental ureteral catheterization during cytometry in a pediatric patient

We present the case of a 9-year-old girl with a neurogenic bladder who had accidental ureteral cannulation with the vesical catheter during cytometry. This is the first reported pediatric case described of this complication, the four prior cases all being in adults. The signs and symptoms of ureteral catheterization differed significantly in this patient from the adult cases. In our patient, malpositioning of the vesical catheter yielded a misleading pressure profile of primarily rhythmic pressure increases suggestive of severe detrusor overactivity and vesicoureteral reflux on fluoroscopy. The reading, however, actually reflected ureteric filling and peristalsis, and these findings resolved when the catheter was properly repositioned. This case highlights the possibility of inadvertent ureteral catheterization, and that, while rare, this complication should be kept in mind when new or unexpected DO or VUR is observed upon filling cystometry.