Causes
Hematuria can be of glomerular or nonglomerular
origin. Brown-colored urine, RBC casts, and dysmorphic (small deformed,
misshapen, sometimes fragmented) RBCs and proteinuria are suggestive of
glomerular hematuria. Reddish or pink urine, passage of blood clots, and
eumorphic (normal sized, biconcavely shaped) erythrocytes are suggestive of a
nonglomerular bleeding site.
Potential causes of hematuria in children
include the following:
1- Glomerular hematuria
o Thin basement membrane
disease (benign familial hematuria)
o Alport syndrome
o Postinfectious
glomerulonephritis
o Membranoproliferative
glomerulonephritis
o Lupus nephritis
o Anaphylactoid purpura
(Henoch-Schönlein purpura)
2- Nonglomerular hematuria
o Fever
o Strenuous exercise
o Mechanical trauma
(masturbation)
o Menstruation
o Foreign bodies
o Urinary tract infection
o Hypercalciuria/urolithiasis
o Sickle cell
disease/trait
o Coagulopathy
o Tumors
o Drugs/toxins
(nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs], anticoagulants,
cyclophosphamide, ritonavir, indinavir)
o Anatomic abnormalities
(hydronephrosis, polycystic kidney disease, vascular malformations)
o Hyperuricosuria
