[Chronic Tropheryma whipplei infection: an important differential diagnosis of refractory polyarthritis].

Z Rheumatol

Klinik für Rheumatologie und Immunologie, Klinikum Bad Bramstedt, Bad Bramstedt, Deutschland.

Published: December 2023

AI Article Synopsis

  • Refractory arthritis often poses diagnostic challenges, and chronic Tropheryma whipplei infection should be a key consideration in these cases.
  • This case-based review examines five clinical instances of Whipple's disease, highlighting its symptoms, which include joint pain, weight loss, and diarrhea, sometimes occurring in isolation from gastrointestinal issues.
  • The need for proper diagnosis is emphasized, as T. whipplei infections can be mistaken for autoimmune arthritis, with specific testing, like polymerase chain reaction analysis of synovial fluid, being crucial for accurate detection.

Article Abstract

Background: Refractory arthritis is a common problem in routine rheumatology practice, and can be a diagnostic challenge. In these cases, chronic Tropheryma whipplei (T. whipplei) infection is an important differential diagnosis that should be considered.

Objective: Based on five clinical cases, this case-based review describes the diagnostic and therapeutic principles in the management of chronic T. whipplei infection.

Results: Whipple's disease is a multisystemic infectious disease caused by the bacterium T. whipplei. The disease typically manifests with arthralgia, weight loss and diarrhoea. Joint involvement often develops years before gastrointestinal symptoms occur. In addition to systemic manifestations ("classic Whipple's disease"), T. whipplei can also lead to localized joint infections without gastrointestinal involvement. Articular manifestations of systemic and localized T. whipplei infections are commonly misdiagnosed as a sign of various forms of autoimmmune arthritis.

Discussion: Whipple's disease and localized T. whipplei joint infection should be considered in the diagnostic work-up of refractory arthritis. Synovial fluid analysis by means of specific polymerase chain reaction-based testing for T. whipplei is diagnostically ground-breaking.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10695860PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00393-022-01194-5DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

tropheryma whipplei
8
infection differential
8
differential diagnosis
8
refractory arthritis
8
whipple's disease
8
localized t whipplei
8
t whipplei
7
[chronic tropheryma
4
whipplei infection
4
diagnosis refractory
4

Similar Publications

Whipple's disease, caused by the gram-positive actinomycete , is a rare chronic systemic illness with significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, particularly when the CNS is involved. This case report details a 46-year-old man presenting with a constellation of symptoms including fatigue, hypersomnia, weight loss, bifrontal headaches, abdominal pain, treatment-unresponsive diarrhea, and skin hyperpigmentation. Neurological examination revealed oculomasticatory myorhythmia, and imaging studies showed nodular enhancement of the hypothalamus and basal ganglia, along with retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

An Incidental Finding of Whipple's Disease Masquerading as Nonspecific, Long-Standing Symptoms.

Case Rep Infect Dis

December 2024

WakeMed's Division of Infectious Diseases, WakeMed Health and Hospitals, 3000 New Bern Ave, Raleigh 27610, North Carolina, USA.

Whipple's disease is a rare bacterial infection that is often present for years prior to diagnosis. Symptoms are nonspecific in the early stages of presentation and are primarily gastrointestinal in nature. The disease may progress with more systemic symptoms including arthralgia, fever, lymphadenopathy, cardiovascular disease, and central nervous system involvement.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A case of acute community-acquired pneumonia caused by in pregnant woman without predisposing medical conditions.

IDCases

December 2024

Department of Critical Care Medicine, Shandong Province Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong 250021, China.

() is extensively known as the etiological bacterium of Whipple's disease (WD). Here, we reported a case of community-acquired pneumonia caused by in a young pregnant woman without predisposing medical conditions. This case indicated that might be also transmitted via respiratory droplet.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pulmonary infection caused by Tropheryma whipplei: a case report and review of the literature.

J Med Case Rep

December 2024

Jiangxi Medical Center for Critical Public Health Events, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330052, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China.

Background: Tropheryma whipplei pneumonia is an infrequent medical condition. The clinical symptoms associated with this disease are nonspecific, often resulting in misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis. Therefore, sharing and summarizing the experiences in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease can deepen global understanding and awareness of it.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This report describes the case of a 41-year-old male patient complaining of a hacking cough. The patient was treated with a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor for psoriasis. Blood tests revealed mild lymphopenia and high levels of serum cryptococcal antigen.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!