Capsule Endoscopy in the Diagnosis, Disease Mapping, and Monitoring of Treatment Response in Gastrointestinal Whipple's Disease

Abstract

ABSTRACTWhipple's disease is a rare systemic infection causing malabsorption. Affected patients often undergo extensive investigation until final diagnosis with periodic acid-Schiff-positive histology. We present the case of a 73-year-old man diagnosed with Whipple's disease after a prolonged history, with a focus on capsule endoscopy (CE) in both mapping the extent of the pathology and follow-up. We demonstrate pre-treatment and post-treatment CE images, allowing visualization of resolved small bowel pathology, and demonstrate histological resolution. The early use of CE in the investigation of Whipple's disease may expedite diagnosis in patients with more distal bowel pathology and help assess disease severity.