Urine with a pink to red color may be due to a number of factors.
Endogenous sources:
(1) bile
(2) porphyrins (especially in patients with porphyria)
(3) urates
(4) hemoglobin or blood
Medication sources:
(1) aminopyrine
(2) deferoxamine mesylate
(3) diphenylhydantoin
(4) methyldopa
(5) phenazopyridine (with acid urine, orange in alkaline urine)
(6) phenothiazines
(7) phenolsulfonphththalein (used to test renal function)
(8) chlorzoxazone
(9) ethoxazene
(10) levodopa (turns brown)
(11) metronidazole
Vegetable:
(1) beet pigment (beta-cyanine, "beeturia")
(2) blackberries
(3) vegetable dyes
Chemical dye:
(1) Rhodamine B
Purgatives or cathartics:
(1) cascara (anthraquinone laxative)
(2) phenolphthalein (with alkaline urine; purple in acid urine)
(3) senna (anthraquinone laxative)
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Specialty: Nephrology, Clinical Laboratory
ICD-10: ,
