Foley placement
Confirm the indication for bladder drainage, bladder scan/PVR when relevant, trained attempts, catheter type/size if known, and stop points such as resistance, pain, bleeding, trauma concern, or complex anatomy.
Urology consult triage
Should I Consult Urology?
A concise triage aid for urinary drainage, stones, hematuria, torsion, priapism, complex devices, and urologic trauma questions.
Common Urology questions
Start With the Clinical Question
Before you consult
Make the Urology Question Answerable
Stone or obstruction
Bring CT/imaging date, stone location/size, hydronephrosis, fever or sepsis markers, renal function, solitary kidney/anuria status, and local source-control pathway context.
Hematuria
Clarify gross vs microscopic bleeding, clot retention, obstruction, Hgb trend, anticoagulation, catheter status, UA/culture, imaging, and local hematuria pathway.
Torsion or priapism
Do not let SIC delay local emergency pathways. Include symptom timing, exam, imaging if already obtained without delay, and relevant comorbidities.
Use this when the question involves urinary drainage, obstructing stone, hematuria with retention, torsion concern, priapism, Fournier concern, urotrauma, or complex urologic devices.
Common low-yield consults
Usually Better as First-Step Workup or Local Pathway First
- Routine Foley placement before a trained local attempt when no trauma, complex anatomy, bleeding, or failed-attempt concern is present.
- Urinary retention before bladder scan/PVR, renal function, hydronephrosis context, and catheter attempt status are known.
- Uncomplicated renal colic with controlled symptoms, no infection, no AKI/anuria, no solitary kidney, and clear follow-up pathway.
- Microscopic hematuria without clots, obstruction, instability, gross bleeding, or acute urologic symptoms.
Copyable consult message
Urology Consult Dotphrase
Reason for Consult: *** Urinary obstruction / infection status: *** Vitals / fever / sepsis markers if relevant: *** Creatinine / WBC / UA / culture: *** Imaging: stone size/location, hydronephrosis, solitary kidney, device issue *** Bladder scan / PVR: *** Catheter attempts: type/size/number/result/complications *** Anticoagulation: *** NPO status if procedure likely: *** Clinical question: drainage, device, stone, torsion, priapism, hematuria, trauma, disposition *** Callback: *** Thank you!
Best practices for Urology consults
- State the exact urologic decision: drainage, device, stone, torsion, priapism, hematuria, trauma, or disposition.
- For catheter questions, include indication, bladder scan/PVR, attempts, catheter types, resistance, bleeding, and relevant anatomy.
- For stones, lead with imaging, obstruction, infection markers, renal function, and solitary kidney/anuria context.
- Avoid repeated traumatic attempts; follow local catheter, trauma, and emergency pathways.
Urology consult patterns
High-Yield Urology Context
Obstructing infected stone
Imaging plus fever, sepsis markers, AKI, anuria, solitary kidney, or infected hydronephrosis concern makes Urology discussion higher yield.
Difficult urinary drainage
Failed trained attempts, suspected urethral injury, false passage concern, bleeding, complex anatomy, or urgent decompression changes the question.
Acute scrotum or priapism
Do not delay local emergency pathways when torsion or ischemic priapism is plausible; Urology may be concurrent.
Hematuria with obstruction
Gross hematuria with clot retention, obstruction, hemodynamic concern, or anticoagulation complexity is a higher-yield discussion.
Urology consults FAQ
Common Urology Questions
What makes a Urology consult higher yield?
The most useful request identifies the specialty-specific decision, the local pathway already active, and the workup or first step already completed.
What should I avoid?
Avoid sending only a diagnosis label, lab result, or procedure name. Frame the decision Urology can change.
References
Educational tool only. SIC provides clinician-facing educational consult-triage references. SIC does not diagnose, treat, prevent, cure, or mitigate disease and is not a substitute for clinical judgment, local guidelines, institutional referral pathways, or recommendations from your urology department. See disclaimer and how SIC works.