Whipple's Disease: A Challenging Diagnosis

• Published in: Cureus Vol. 16; no. 1; p. e51991
• Main Authors: Porteiro, Beatriz, Freitas, Ana Rita, Nunes, Filipa, Major, Marinela, Batista, Frederico
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2024
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.51991

Whipple's disease (WD) is a chronic multisystemic infection caused by Tropheryma whipplei. It is a rare condition with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations, necessitating a high clinical suspicion to arrive at the diagnosis. We present the case of a 65-year-old woman who experienced chronic, intermittent, and migratory polyarthralgia, weight loss, anorexia, and pyrosis. She was admitted due to bilateral deep vein thrombosis (DVT). She exhibited lymphadenopathy without hepatosplenomegaly, and lymph node biopsy revealed reactive lymphadenitis with intrahistiocytic bacilli that reacted positively to periodic acid-Schiff staining. This led to the suspicion of WD, which was subsequently confirmed through small bowel biopsies. She initiated treatment with ceftriaxone and experienced rapid clinical improvement. WD poses a diagnostic challenge. The signs and symptoms are often nonspecific and can result in misdiagnosis as a rheumatic or neoplastic disease. The presentation with DVT, while unusual, has been reported as a manifestation of WD.