A CASE OF PRIMARY AMYLOIDOSIS WITH RAPIDLY PROGRESSIVE MULTIPLE ORGAN FAILURE

Abstract

We report a case of a 71-year-old man with various symptoms, including appetite loss, sensory disorder of taste, diarrhea and a decrease of body weight. He also presented hepatosplenomegaly, anemia, renal dysfunction and hypoalbuminemia. Although he was diagnosed with systemic amyloidosis through rectal and abdominal fat biopsies, he showed rapidly progressive multiple organ failure, which resulted in death. His autopsy findings contributed to a final diagnosis of primary amyloidosis, caused by monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). 1-1.5% of MGUS patients progress to multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, or some other more acute disease within a year. It is important to make a differential diagnosis, including primary amyloidosis, for patients with various symptoms. Even if the patient has a normal level of serum IgG, we need to pay attention to MGUS, as it can progress to multiple organ failure.