In medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, hemoglobinuria or haemoglobinuria is a condition in which the oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

 transport protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 hemoglobin

Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of all vertebrates, with the exception of the fish family Channichthyidae, as well as the tissues of some invertebrates...

 is found in abnormally high concentrations in the urine

Urine

Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...

. The condition is often associated with hemolytic anemia

Hemolytic anemia

Hemolytic anemia is a form of anemia due to hemolysis, the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells , either in the blood vessels or elsewhere in the human body . It has numerous possible causes, ranging from relatively harmless to life-threatening...

, in which red blood cell

Red blood cell

Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...

s (RBCs) are destroyed, thereby increasing levels of free plasma

Blood plasma

Blood plasma is the straw-colored liquid component of blood in which the blood cells in whole blood are normally suspended. It makes up about 55% of the total blood volume. It is the intravascular fluid part of extracellular fluid...

 hemoglobin. The excess hemoglobin is filtered by the kidney

Kidney

The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...

s, which release it into the urine, giving urine a red color.

Causes

• Acute glomerulonephritis
  Glomerulonephritis
  Glomerulonephritis, also known as glomerular nephritis, abbreviated GN, is a renal disease characterized by inflammation of the glomeruli, or small blood vessels in the kidneys...
  
  
• Burn
  Burn
  A burn is an injury to flesh caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation, or friction.Burn may also refer to:*Combustion*Burn , type of watercourses so named in Scotland and north-eastern England...
  
  s
• Renal cancer
• Malaria
  Malaria
  Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
  
  
• Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
  Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
  Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria , sometimes referred to as Marchiafava-Micheli syndrome, is a rare, acquired, potentially life-threatening disease of the blood characterised by complement-induced intravascular hemolytic anemia , red urine and thrombosis...
  
  
• Hemolytic-uremic syndrome
  Hemolytic-uremic syndrome
  Hemolytic-uremic syndrome , abbreviated HUS, is a disease characterized by hemolytic anemia, acute renal failure and a low platelet count . It predominantly, but not exclusively, affects children. Most cases are preceded by an episode of diarrhea caused by E. coli O157:H7, which is acquired as a...
  
   (HUS)
• Pyelonephritis
  Pyelonephritis
  Pyelonephritis is an ascending urinary tract infection that has reached the pyelum or pelvis of the kidney. It is a form of nephritis that is also referred to as pyelitis...
  
  
• Sickle cell anemia
• Transfusion reactions
• Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
  Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
  Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is a rare disorder of the blood-coagulation system, causing extensive microscopic thromboses to form in small blood vessels throughout the body...
  
   (TTP)
• Tuberculosis
  Tuberculosis
  Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
  
   of the urinary tract
• March hemoglobinuria secondary to repetitive impacts on the body, usually the feet
• Athletic nephritis secondary to strenuous exercise
• Acute lead poisoning
  Lead poisoning
  Lead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and reproductive and nervous systems...
  
  

Complications

Hemoglobinuria can lead to acute tubular necrosis

Acute tubular necrosis

Acute tubular necrosis or is a medical condition involving the death of tubular cells that form the tubule that transports urine to the ureters while reabsorbing 99% of the water . Tubular cells continually replace themselves and if the cause of ATN is removed then recovery is likely...

 which is a common cause of death of multi-traumatic patients recovering in the ICU

Intensive care medicine

Intensive-care medicine or critical-care medicine is a branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and management of life threatening conditions requiring sophisticated organ support and invasive monitoring.- Overview :...

.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is often made based on the medical history, blood samples, and a urine sample. The absence of urine RBCs and RBC casts microscopically despite a positive dipstick test suggests hemoglobinuria or myoglobinuria. The medical term for RBCs in the urine is hematuria

Hematuria

In medicine, hematuria, or haematuria, is the presence of red blood cells in the urine. It may be idiopathic and/or benign, or it can be a sign that there is a kidney stone or a tumor in the urinary tract , ranging from trivial to lethal...

.