Bilirubin Urine Test

Some prescription drugs can cause a false positive, or a higher-than-normal reading of bilirubin in your body. False positives indicate high bilirubin levels that aren’t necessarily associated with liver disease. Discuss your medication usage with your doctor.

If you routinely take the following drugs, you may be asked to stop taking them for a couple of days before your bilirubin testing:

• diuretics
• birth control pills
• steroids
• barbiturates
• sulfonamides

Visit your local medical testing lab to get the special container needed to collect your urine. This is usually a large plastic jug fitted with a screw-top cover.

Testing bilirubin levels through urinalysis is painless, but it requires a time commitment and attention to detail. A thorough and accurate test requires you to collect your urine over the course of 24 hours.

On the day you begin the bilirubin urine test, don’t collect urine the first time you urinate. This is because your first specimen of urine is usually more concentrated. After the first time you urinate, start collecting your urine. This means each time you urinate throughout the day, collect the urine in the container rather than flushing it down the toilet.

You may use a clean, small cup to collect the urine and pour it into the container to make the process easier. Cover the container tightly after each use and store it in the refrigerator during the 24-hour collection period.

Collect your urine again on the morning of the second day. This is your last collection, and it should be your first urination of the morning. Label the container with your name and the date, and then return the full container to the lab facility.

Newborn babies often have jaundice. This is because infants’ livers aren’t as efficient at removing bilirubin from the body. Increased bilirubin and the resulting jaundice can be dangerous to infants if the underlying condition isn’t treated.

Testing bilirubin through urine may be challenging for parents of infants being tested. The lab will supply you with urine collection bags to fit into your child’s diaper. Place the bag over your baby’s penis or labia and put on their diaper as usual.

Use a fresh bag at each diaper change. Put the contents of each collection bag into the collection container.

The results of a bilirubin 24-hour urine test should be available within a few days after you’ve completed the test. Your doctor will notify you about the results.

In healthy people, bilirubin isn’t present in urine. If your test shows bilirubin present, you may need to undergo blood tests to measure your bilirubin levels and liver function.