Funny-Colored Urine
                             ===================
ž Differential of Red Urine

        Causes and Macroscopic Features of Red and Brown Urine.
Cause           Results of Test for Blood       Sediment†‡      Supernatant‡
                in Fresh Urine* 
Hematuria       + to ++++                       Red             Yellow
Myoglobinuria   + to ++++                       Normal          Red to brown
Hemoglobinuria  + to ++++                       Normal          Red to brown
Porphyria       Negative                        Normal          Red
Bile pigments   Negative                        Normal          Brown
Food and drugs§ Negative                        Normal          Red to brown
* Urine was tested with the use of a dipstick test. This is a semiquantitative test of the number of erythrocytes per microliter.
Results range from + (5 to 10 erythrocytes per microliter) to ++++ (approximately 250 erythrocytes per microliter).
† Normal refers to white or yellow in color, unremarkable in the absence of 
cells, crystals, or cylinders.
‡ The sediment and supernatant were examined after centrifugation of 10 to 15 ml 
of urine at 1500 to 3000 rpm for 5 minutes.
§ Food and drugs that can cause red urine include beets, blackberries, rhubarb, 
food coloring, fava beans, phenolphthalein, rifampin, doxorubicin, deferoxamine, 
chloroquine, ibuprofen, and methyldopa. Those that can cause brown urine include 
levodopa, metronidazole, nitrofurantoin, iron sorbitol, chloroquine, and 
methyldopa.
[Bosch, X., E. Poch, et al. (2009). "Rhabdomyolysis and Acute Kidney Injury." 
New England Journal of Medicine 361(1): 62-72.]

ž Interesting Colors
        Blue-Green      Methylene blue
                        Amitriptyline
                        Triamterene

        Black-brown     Ochronosis
                        Melanin
                        Metronidazole
                        Methyldopa
                        Nitrofurantoin (e.g., Macrodantin)

        Dark brown/     Bilirubin
         foamy

        Red             Porphyria
                        Hemoglobinuria
                        Myoglobinuria
                        Rifampin
                        Phenothiazine
                        Sulfasalazine
                        Phenazopyridine (e.g., Pyridium)
                        Beets

        White           Crystalluria
                        Pyuria