Bilirubin - urine

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Male urinary system

Conjugated bilirubin-urine; Direct bilirubin-urine

Bilirubin is not normally found in the urine.

If the bile ducts are obstructed, direct bilirubin will build up to a high enough level that some of it will escape from the liver into the blood. If the levels are high enough, some of it will also appear in the urine. Only direct bilirubin appears in the urine. Increased direct bilirubin usually means that the biliary (liver secretion) ducts are obstructed.

Increased urinary bilirubin may indicate:

• biliary strictures
• cirrhosis
• gallstones in the biliary tract
• hepatitis with associated biliary obstruction
• surgical trauma affecting the biliary tract
• tumors of the liver or gall bladder

Review Date: 05/17/2005
Reviewed By: Nikheel S. Kolatkar, MD, Clinical and Research Fellow, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.