Whipple's disease laboratory findings
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
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)
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)