Whipple's disease laboratory findings

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief:

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Laboratory Findings

Diagnosis is made by intestinal biopsy, which reveals presence of the organism as PAS-positive macrophage inclusions. Immunohistochemical staining for antibodies against T. whipplei has been used to detect the organism in a variety if tissues, and a confirmatory PCR-based assay is also available.

Some of the tests to help diagnose Whipple's disease includes:

• Complete blood count (CBC)

• Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to check for the bacteria that causes the disease
• Small bowel biopsy

Whipple's disease may also change the results of the following tests:

• Albumin
• Unabsorbed fat in the stools (fecal fat)
• Intestinal absorption of a type of sugar (d-xylose absorption)