A Case of Dialysis-related Amyloidosis of the Hip and Cervical Spine: Imaging Findings

term hemodialysis and it is characterized by the accumulation of β2-microglobulin in the osteoarticular structures. In 1984, Kuntz et al. (1) first described destructive spondyloarthropathy in ten patients who received longterm hemodialysis. The lesions in that study were radiographically characterized by severe narrowing of the intervertebral disk and erosions and cysts of the adjacent vertebral plates without osteophytosis. In the axial skeleton, a rapidly progressive destructive spondyloarthropathy may be difficult to distinguish from infectious spondylitis because both conditions have similar radiographic findings (2). Thus, needle biopsy is generally performed to confirm the diagnosis and exclude infectious spondylitis. In this article, we describe the imaging findings of a case of dialysis-related amyloidosis involving the hip and cervical spine in one patient who received longterm dialysis. This case is presented to provide appropriate information about this disease and so help physicians minimize unnecessary biopsy procedures.