Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Case Report
Abstract: Dark-colored urine is often referred to as hematuria; however, this is an assumption that can often be misleading. In the evaluation of dark-colored urine, distinguishing between true hematuria, hemoglobinuria, and myoglobinuria is essential, as each indicates different underlying pathologies and requires targeted diagnostic and management strategies. Visualization of dark-colored urine often leads to an isolated urologic evaluation, and assessment for more infrequent causes of this phenomenon may be obscured. Clinicians tend to anchor on common urologic causes of dark-colored urine or rely on dipstick analysis alone, thus failing to perform a more systemic evaluation. We present a case of persistent hematuria with cardiac origins that remained undiagnosed for many months. A detailed history and attention to hematologic indices should be pursued when urologic causes of hematuria prove to be unrevealing.
Source: Cureus
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.88069
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4412476138