Purple urine in a patient with UTI and constipation

Lakshmi Kannan; Allison Ann Bauman

doi:10.1093/omcr/omad013

Purple urine in a patient with UTI and constipation

Oxf Med Case Reports. 2023 Feb 27;2023(2):omad013. doi: 10.1093/omcr/omad013. eCollection 2023 Feb.

Authors

Lakshmi Kannan¹, Allison Ann Bauman^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nephrology, Pikeville Medical Center, Pikeville, KY, USA.
² University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, OMS IV, Pikeville, Kentucky, USA.

Abstract

Purple urine bag syndrome (PUBS) is a visually striking and a rare side effect in a patient with urinary tract infection where urine in the catheter bags and tubing turn purple. The urine in PUBS gets its color from the combination of two pigments, indirubin and indigo, which are breakdown products of tryptophan. The most important risk factors include long-term catheterization, female gender, chronic constipation, old age and being bed bound. Here, we present a case of PUBS in an elderly female with a history of bladder cancer that needed catheterization along with constipation.

Publication types

Case Reports