[A case of emphysematous cystitis with familial amyloidosis]

This is a report of the thirteenth known case in Japan of emphysematous cystitis. A 70-year-old man visited our hospital because of pollakisuria and macrohematuria on November 21, 1989. The patient had been known to have familiar amyloid polyneuropathy for the previous 3 years. Urinalysis showed marked hematopyuria. The residual urine was 216 cc, and urine cultures yielded 10,000,000 colonies of Escherichia coli per ml. Laboratory studies revealed systemic inflammatory findings, but no diabetic change. A plain X-ray film of the abdomen and an excretory urogram (DIP) showed small linear and round gas collections in the bladder shadow. A CT scan revealed multiple gas locules within the bladder wall. A diagnosis of emphysematous cystitis was established. The patient was given antibiotics, and there was striking clinical improvement. Histological examination of the endoscopically obtained biopsy specimen of the bladder revealed amyloidosis. We believe that this patient had a cystitis emphysematosa precipitated neurogenic bladder due to amyloid polyneuropathy and amyloidosis of the bladder.