RESUMO
Background: Amyloidosis is characterized by the extracellular deposit of an insoluble fibrillar protein that leads to tissue atrophy and necrosis. Aim: To report the clinical features of cases of amyloidosis diagnosed in a public hospital in Santiago, Chile, from 2000 to 2004. Material and methods: Retrospective review of all pathology reports of biopsies obtained from 2000 to 2004. In all cases reported as "amyloidosis", the clinical features of such patients were obtained from their medical records. Results: The medical records of 11 patients with amyloidosis were obtained (aged 35 to 71 year old, seven females). Seven had a systemic and four a localized disease. Six patients had primary amyloidosis and in one, it was secondary to a disseminated tuberculosis. Five patients with the generalized disease consulted for anarsarca, three for weight loss and 2 for chronic diarrhea. Patients with localized disease consulted for tonsil enlargement, dysphonia and skin lesions. Five patients with generalized disease had renal involvement and five had cardiac involvement. Three patients had malabsorption. Conclusions: The most common presentation of systemic amyloidosis is anasarca and renal involvement is common.