Whipples disease : the great masquerader - a high level of suspicion is the key to diagnosis
| Autor: | Paula Gyllemark, Sven Almer, Rasjan Amin, Nikolaos Melas, Amil Haji Younes |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Duodenum Tropheryma Arthritis Case Report Disease Gastroenterology and Hepatology Gastroenterology Gastrointestinal symptoms Tropheryma whipplei 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Whipples disease Internal medicine RNA Ribosomal 16S Gastroenterologi Medicine Mesenteric lymph nodes Humans Whipple's disease lcsh:RC799-869 030203 arthritis & rheumatology biology business.industry General Medicine medicine.disease biology.organism_classification Anti-Bacterial Agents Diarrhea medicine.anatomical_structure 030211 gastroenterology & hepatology lcsh:Diseases of the digestive system. Gastroenterology medicine.symptom Whipple’s disease business Whipple Disease Rare disease |
| Zdroj: | BMC Gastroenterology, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021) BMC Gastroenterology |
| Popis: | Background Whipple's disease is a chronic infectious disease that primarily affects the small intestine, but several organs can simultaneously be involved. The disease is caused by a gram-positive bacterium called Tropheryma whipplei. The disease is difficult to suspect because it is rare with unspecific and long-term symptoms; it can be lethal if not properly treated. Case presentation We here present three patients who presented with a plethora of symptoms, mainly long-standing seronegative arthritis and gastrointestinal symptoms in the form of diarrhea with blood, weight loss, fever, and lymphadenopathy. They were after extensive investigations diagnosed with Whipple's disease, in two of them as long as 8 years after the first occurrence of joint manifestations. The diagnosis was made by PCR targeting the T. whipplei 16S rRNA gene from small bowel specimen in all three patients, and, besides from histopathologic findings from the duodenum and distal ileum in one and mesenteric lymph nodes in another patient. Conclusions This report aims to raise awareness of a very rare disease that presents with a combination of symptoms mimicking other and significantly more common diseases. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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