Bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome as a clue for the diagnosis of systemic amyloidosis.

A 60-year-old Swiss woman presented with a 1-year history of periorbital hemorrhagic papules, a tendency to develop hematoma due to minor trauma and shortness of breath. The personal medical history included surgery for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) 2 years ago. Clinical and laboratory findings included macroglossia, Bence-Jones proteinuria, reticular lung infiltrates, thickening of the ventricular walls in echocardiography and increase in atypical plasma cells in the bone marrow. The coexistence of the specific symptoms of CTS, macroglossia and cutaneous lesions should immediately alert the physician to the probable existence of plasma-cell-dyscrasia-related systemic amyloidosis. Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel