An Additive Mix? Acute Urinary Retention in a Patient With Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Treated With Suboxone, Lurasidone, and Trazodone

Treatment of psychiatric patients is frequently complicated by medical comorbidities, complex pharmacologic regimens, and side effects occurring secondarily to those regimens. Acute urinary retention is an infrequently discussed side effect of such regimens. This report describes the development of acute urinary retention (AUR) in a 60-year-old man with a history of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The patient developed AUR during treatment with combination buprenorphine/naloxone, trazodone, and lurasidone. We discuss the potential relationship of these agents to the development of this patient’s AUR, the complicated neurochemical dynamic of the voiding process, and the pathologic consequences that psychotropic agents can have on that process.