OBJECTIVES: To systematically review the literature to identify studies relating to the humanistic burden and the cost-effectiveness of treatments for chronic urinary retention (CUR) in spinal cord injured (SCI) individuals. METHODS: Searches were made in the following databases: MEDLINE, Medline in process, EMBASE, EconLit and the NHS Economic Evaluation Database. No year restrictions were placed on the date of publication. The eligibility criteria in both reviews were adults with CUR requiring catheterisation. Searches were restricted to full English language publications in both cases. Only full economic evaluations or studies using generic utility instruments were considered for inclusion. Abstracts were reviewed against pre-specified inclusion criteria by two of the authors, with a third providing advice in areas of disagreement. Data extraction was undertaken by two authors and validated by a third author. RESULTS: Following de-duplication, a total of 518 and 627 abstracts retrieved from the cost-effectiveness and utility searches respectively were reviewed for inclusion. Of these, two economic evaluations and four utility studies were included. One of the models used the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) as a measure of benefit, with the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio ranging from £3,270 to £51,345 per QALY gained depending on the choice of interventions assessed. The SF-36 instrument was used in all four included utility studies. Statistically significant differences were observed for almost all domains in individuals with CUR compared to matched non-CUR individuals and HRQoL was also observed to be negatively associated with the level of incontinence (categories: no incontinence, yes monthly, yes weekly, yes daily). CONCLUSIONS: There is a paucity of information on both the cost-effectiveness and humanistic burden of interventions for adult CUR individuals with an SCI but what evidence there is indicated that CUR triggers a reduction in health related quality of life and that certain bladder management options are cost-effective.