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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffThe process of diagnosing Whipple's disease typically includes the following tests:
- Physical exam. Your doctor will likely begin with a physical exam, looking for signs and symptoms that suggest the presence of this condition — for example, abdominal tenderness and skin darkening, particularly on sun-exposed parts of your body.
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Biopsy. An important step in diagnosing Whipple's disease is taking a tissue sample (biopsy), usually from the lining of the small intestine. To do this, your doctor typically performs an upper endoscopy. The procedure uses a thin, flexible scope that passes through your mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach to your small intestine. The scope allows your doctor to view your digestive passages and obtain biopsies.
During the procedure, tissue samples are removed from several intestinal sites. This tissue is microscopically examined for the presence of disease-causing bacteria and their lesions, and specifically for Tropheryma whipplei bacteria. If biopsies of the small intestine don't confirm the diagnosis, your doctor might biopsy an enlarged lymph node or perform other tests.
A DNA-based test known as polymerase chain reaction, which is available at some medical centers, can detect Tropheryma whipplei bacteria in biopsy specimens or spinal fluid samples.
- Blood tests. Your doctor may also order blood tests, such as a complete blood count. Blood tests can detect certain conditions associated with Whipple's disease, particularly anemia, which is a decline in the number of red blood cells, and low concentrations of albumin, a protein in your blood.
- Whipple's disease. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/whipple/. Accessed July 17, 2012.
- Whipple disease. National Organization for Rare Disorders. http://www.rarediseases.org/rare-disease-information/rare-diseases/byID/90/printFullReport. Accessed July 22, 2012.
- Black DF, et al. MP imaging of central nervous system Whipple disease: A 15-year review. American Journal of Neuroradiology. 2010;31:1493.
- McPhee SJ, et al. Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2012. 51st ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=6395. Accessed July 22, 2012.
- Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practices of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..001016&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&sid=1334815881&uniqId=346690210-3#4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00101-6. Accessed July 22, 2012.
- Bioterrorism and drug preparedness. Federal Drug Administration. http://google2.fda.gov/search?q=Plaquenil+side+effects&spell=1&client=FDAgov&site=FDAgov&lr=&proxystylesheet=FDAgov&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&access=p. Accessed July 22, 2012.
- Plaquenil. Physicians' Desk Reference. http://www.pdrhealth.com/drugs/plaquenil. Accessed July 22, 2012.
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