Intestinal bacteria form urobilinogen from bilirubin
Biomarker library
Urinalysis
Urine urobilinogen
Urobilinogen is made by gut bacteria from bilirubin. Some is reabsorbed, and a small amount in urine is normal.
Measured in your health assessment, with a doctor to explain your result. Book yours
Why it matters
Because it depends on both how much bilirubin is made and whether bile reaches the gut, it helps tell different causes of jaundice apart.
What a result can mean
Lower than the range
Very low or absent urobilinogen can occur when bile can't reach the gut, as with a blocked bile duct, or after antibiotics that reduce gut bacteria.
Higher than the range
Raised urobilinogen is seen when red blood cells break down faster than usual, or with liver conditions that stop the liver recycling it.
What can help
It is read with blood bilirubin and the liver tests, and returns to normal when the underlying cause is treated.
Read it with
NoteGeneral educational illustration. Colours, sizes and movement are simplified. This is not a scan or a simulation of your body. General information, not personal medical advice: a doctor reads your own results with your history.
Know your urine urobilinogen.
Measured in your health assessment and explained by the doctor who reviews your results.