Urine Odour

1	2
Odour	Potential causes
Sweet or fruity	Ketoacidosis (Diabetic, alcoholic, starvation) Maple syrup urine disease (infants, rare)
Ammonia	Bladder retention Urine at room temperature for prolonged period (“alkaline fermentaion”) Bacterial infection
Faecal	Bladder-Intestinal fistula E. coli infection Contamination with feces
Musty	Phenylketonuria
Sulfur	Cysteine decomposition Suppurative diseases of the GU tract
Aromatic	Volatile organic acids most marked in “concentrated” urine specimens
Swimming pool	Hawkinsinuria
Mousy Cabbage	Tyrosinemia
Drugs Diet	Characteristic of drugs such as antibiotics (e.g. penicillins); food (e.g. asparagus)

Critical Care

Compendium