Hyaline casts -- these casts are made of the protein itself. They are usually caused by dehydration, exercise, or diuretic medicines.
Granular casts -- these casts include prominent granules and indicate an underlying kidney disease. However, they are non-specific and may be present with diverse kidney disorders.
Fatty casts -- these result when fatty (lipid) material is incorporated into the cast from lipid-laden tubular cells. Fatty casts are seen in the condition of lipiduria (lipids in urine), usually as a complication of nephrotic syndrome.
Red cell casts -- these signify bleeding into the tubule from the glomerulus. They are seen in many diseases affecting the glomerulus, such as IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis, Goodpasture's syndrome , and Wegener's Granulomatosis. Red cell casts may degenerate and appear in the urine as reddish-brown, coarsely granular casts, called blood or hemoglobin casts.
White blood cell (WBC) casts -- these are more common in interstitial cell kidney disease, such as interstitial inflammation, pyelonephritis, and parenchymal infection.
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