What antidotes are associated with urine color changes?
December 31, 2024
Happy Holidays from the Tennessee Poison Center!
Antidotes have been known to cause urine color changes. While the vin rosé color changes are no longer useful for determining duration of deferoxamine treatment, this is a commonly known antidote to cause a change in urine color.
More brightly colored changes can occur with methylene blue and hydroxocobalamin.
Methylene blue can cause blue or green urine. In larger doses, methylene blue can also cause blue skin discoloration.
Hydroxocobalamin used for cyanide poisoning and also to treat vasoplegia especially after cardiac surgery. It can characteristically turn urine bright red.
In the rare case that a person receives both methylene blue and hydroxocobalamin, a patient can have purple urine.
While not an antidote but often used to sedate critically toxicology patients, propofol has been known to change urine to a green color.
Thank you all for your readership. We look forward to sharing more Questions of the Week with you all in 2025!
Rebecca Bruccoleri, MD
Medical Director
Tennessee Poison Center