title: Purple Urine Bag Syndrome: a case report of an alarming phenomenon.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Purple urine bag syndrome is an uncommon phenomenon where the plastic urinary catheter bag and tubing turn purple. It occurs in some elderly constipated chronic urinary catheterization patients. The phenomenon is attributed to the presence of metabolites of tryptophan in the presence of urinary tract infection.This urine discoloration may lead to misdiagnosis and also cause great concern to patients and their relatives.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present the clinical case of a 83-year-old female patient with dementia and hypothyroidism, chronically catheterized, who presented with purple-color urine initially misdiagnosed as having haematuria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Goumenissa, Kilkis, Greece.
authors.forename: DI
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Agapakis
authors.affiliation: ICU, Hippokratio General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Ev
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Massa
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Goumenissa, Kilkis, Greece.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hantzis
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Goumenissa, Kilkis, Greece.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Paschoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Goumenissa, Kilkis, Greece.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Satsoglou
keywords: Urine; discolored; infection