Introduction

Amyloidosis is a rare disease, resulting from the accumulation and deposition of insoluble proteins in tissues or organs. This disease may involve the kidney, resulting in nephrotic syndrome and renal failure. The amyloidosis has been associated with systemic involvement, with AL amyloidosis and AA amyloidosis being the most common. The last is associated with various inflammatory disorders as chronic infections and autoimmune diseases. A multidisciplinary approach is required to the diagnosis (hematologic, cardiac, autoimmune, infectious, neoplastic) and in cases of renal involvement, a kidney biopsy with complete study of light microscopy, special stains including congo red, immunofluorescence, electron microscopy is essential for diagnosis. In cases where the cause cannot be stablished, mass spectrometry is practical tool to the identification of the correct type of amyloidosis.

Purpose

Here, we present a patient with a chronic and severe abdominal inflammatory process that progressed to a nephrotic syndrome due to AA amyloidosis, in which mass spectrometry helped to clarify the diagnosis.

Case presentation

Here, we present a patient with a chronic and severe abdominal inflammatory process that progressed to a nephrotic syndrome due to AA amyloidosis, in which mass spectrometry helped to clarify the diagnosis

Discussion and conclusion

Mass spectrometry is considered a useful diagnostic test to confirm the etiology of amyloidosis, especially if other methods are insufficient to establish it.

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