English 
Italian CASI CLINICI – Case Reports
Volume:
Biochimica Clinica 2012; 36(2) 139-143
Pubblicato on-line:
DOI:
Quando l’urina diventa rossa: un’inattesa macroematuria
AUTORI
Laboratorio Analisi Chimico-Cliniche, Azienda Ospedaliera “Luigi Sacco”, e Cattedra di Biochimica Clinica e Biologia Molecolare Clinica, Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche “Luigi Sacco”, Università degli Studi, Milano
ABSTRACT
If urines become red: an unexpected case of gross hematuria.
The physiological colour of urine is usually yellow. Urine discoloration is a common situation in clinical practice and a variety of colours may be seen. When a patient complains of green or blue urine, there is no confusion with a pathological origin. However, when the urine is red, the first thought is usually hematuria leading to anxiety for patient himself and for physicians too. We present a case of a 54 years old man presenting with asymptomatic apparent gross hematuria ruled out by chemical urinalysis and visual microscopic evaluation of the sediment showing neither hemoglobin nor red blood cells in his urine specimen. Possible causes of red urine not related to presence of blood are critically presented and discussed.