FACTOR-X DEFICIENCY IN PRIMARY AMYLOIDOSIS - RESOLUTION AFTER SPLENECTOMY

MANY patients with acquired factor X deficiency associated with primary amyloidosis have a severe bleeding disorder.1 2 3 4 A Because administered factor X is rapidly removed from circulation, concentrates of vitamin K and vitamin K-dependent factors rarely benefit these patients. We describe a patient with factor X deficiency due to infiltration of the spleen by amyloid. Splenectomy gave complete and long-lasting correction of factor X deficiency and the associated bleeding disorder. Case Report A 49-year-old man presented in May, 1976, with abdominal pain, edema and dyspnea on exertion, all of which had lasted six weeks. A bullous, purpuric skin eruption had been. © 1979, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.