Purple urine bag syndrome is a rare condition in which purple discoloration of urine inside its collection bag occurs. We describe two illustrative cases. The first patient is an 81-year-old man who was hospitalized for a newly diagnosed
lymphoma with acute obstructive
renal failure for which a
nephrostomy procedure was performed. During the hospitalization, a sudden purple discoloration of the suprapubic
catheter urine was noted, while the
nephrostomy urine had a normal color. Urine culture from the suprapubic
catheter was positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis; urine from the
nephrostomy was sterile. The second case is an 80-year-old man who was admitted for
heart failure with cardiorenal dilemma and who was started on intermittent
hemodialysis. There was a sudden purple discoloration of the urine in the collection bag from his
indwelling catheter. He was diagnosed with an E. coli urinary
infection and treated with
amoxicillin and removal of the
indwelling catheter. These two cases illustrate the typical characteristics of purple urine bag syndrome.