Secondary Renal Amyloidosis in Pulmonary Tuberculosis - A Classic Revisited

Abstract

Renal amyloidosis is an important and potentially life threatening complication of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and should be suspected clinically in all patients of PTB presenting with pedal edema, proteinuria, and medical renal disease on ultrasound. Renal amyloidosis may occur in PTB patients at variable intervals. It can occur in patients having disease for relatively shorter duration as well as in chronic cases of PTB with duration of illness often ten or more years. It can occur even if PTB was adequately treated. In tuberculosis, pedal edema may have other causes including malnutrition, anemia and heart failure, which may result in missing amyloidosis in these patients. An increase in awareness of the clinical features of amyloidosis in tuberculosis is important for its early diagnosis and timely assessment. So we report 2 cases of secondary amyloidosis post tuberculosis, one presenting after a long latent period of 25 years and other within few months of diagnosis of PTB.