DIAGNOSTIC SCREENING OF SYSTEMIC AMYLOIDOSIS BY ABDOMINAL FAT ASPIRATION - AN ANALYSIS OF 100 CASES

Congo red staining of abdominal fat aspirates was used as a screening procedure for systemic amyloidosis in 100 consecutive patients with sy mptoms suggestive of systemic amyloidosis. Nine samples were positive for amyloid. To assess the reliability of the method, we reviewed the patients' clinical records and their other biopsy data. All nine patie nts with positive fat specimens had a clinical course suggestive of am yloidosis. Fat aspirates were positive in nine of 11 patients with doc umented systemic amyloidosis. The sensitivity of the abdominal fat asp iration-amyloid technique was 82%, its specificity was 100%, and the p redictive value of a positive result was 100%. Sixteen patients underw ent both cutaneous biopsy and abdominal fat aspiration, and the result s of Congo red staining were concordant in all cases. Although this me thod requires training to avoid sampling difficulties, abdominal fat a spiration is a highly reliable screening procedure for the diagnosis o f AL amyloidosis, AA amyloidosis, and familial amyloidotic neuropathy (FAP).