| Appearance | Indications |
| Green | Pseudomonas Presence of bilirubin |
| Pink or red | ?beetroot Blood, haemoglobin, phenindone |
| Orange | Excess urobilinogen, rifampacin |
| Yellow | Bilirubin |
| Brown | Bilirubin, alkaptonuria |
| Debris | Indications |
| Cloudy | Infection, stale sample |
| Sediment | Infection, contaminated sample |
| Odour | Indications |
| Fishy | Infection |
| Sweet smelling / acetone | Ketones, acetone |
| Dipstick | Potential Indications |
| Glucose | Diabetes mellitus Cushing’s syndrome Acute pancreatitis |
| Ketones | Starvation Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus |
| Bilirubin and urobilinigen | Hepatic or biliary disease Chirosis Destruction of erythrocytes |
| Protein | Renal disease UTI Pyelonephritis Hypertension Pre-eclampsiaCongestive cardiac failureProtein in men may be due to sperm following sex |
| Blood | Trauma UTI Renal stones Sulphonomides Urinary tract tumourMenstruationLocal contamination |
| Nitrites | UTI |
| Leukocytes | Bladder or renal infection |
| Ph>7 | Infection, fever, gout, metabolic acidosis |
| Specific gravity (normal range 1010-1025) | Concentrated urine Dehydration Excess fluid intake Renal disease Diabetes insipidus |
Taken from Nursing in Practice July/August 2011 Number 61.
