Open AccessFirst Pillcam Colon 2 capsule images of Whipple’s disease: Case report and review of the literature
Author(s) -
Bogdan Mateescu,
Andreea Benguş,
Mădălina Marinescu,
Florica Stăniceanu,
Gianina Micu,
Lucian Negreanu
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
world journal of gastrointestinal endoscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1948-5190
DOI - 10.4253/wjge.v4.i12.575
Subject(s) - histopathology , medicine , tropheryma whipplei , capsule , whipple's disease , diarrhea , whipple disease , gastroenterology , biopsy , pathology , disease , coeliac disease , botany , intestinal malabsorption , biology
Whipple's disease is a rare chronic systemic infection determined by the Gram-positive bacillus Tropheryma whipplei. The infection usually mainly involves the small bowel, but sometimes other organs are affected as well. Since the current standard clinical and biological tests are nonspecific, diagnosis is very difficult and relies on histopathology. Here we present the case of a 52-year-old man with chronic diarrhea and weight loss whose symptoms had been evolving for 2 years and whose diagnosis came unexpectedly after capsule examination. Diagnosis was confirmed by the histopathologic examination of endoscopic biopsy samples, and treatment with co-trimoxazole resulted in remission of symptoms. We present the first images of Whipple's disease obtained with the Pillcam Colon 2 video capsule system.