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Whipple’s disease

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment

Alternative Names:

Intestinal lipodystrophy

Treatment:

A person with Whipple's disease needs long-term antibiotic therapy to treat infections of the brain and central nervous system. A medicine called ceftriaxone is given through a vein (IV), followed by an antibiotic taken by mouth, such as trimethoprim -sulfamethoxazole. This antibiotic is taken for up to one year.

If symptoms come back during antibiotic use, the antibiotic or antibiotics may be changed.

Because signs of the disease can return after completing therapy, the patient should be closely followed by a doctor. Those who have nutritional deficiencies due to malabsorption will need dietary supplements.

Expectations (prognosis):

Without treatment, the condition is usually fatal. Treatment improves the chance of a good outcome.

Complications:

• Nutritional deficiencies
• Weight loss
• Reappearance of symptoms, suggesting drug resistance

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if you have persistent abdominal pain and diarrhea.

If you are being treated for Whipple's disease, call your health care provider if symptoms worsen or do not improve, if symptoms reappear, or if new symptoms develop.

• Review Date: 12/19/2006
• Reviewed By: D. Scott Smith, M.D., MSc, DTM&H, Chief of Infectious Disease & Geographic Medicine, Kaiser Redwood City, CA & Adjunct Assistant Professor, Stanford University. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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