Cerebral relapse of sarcoidlike Whipple's disease

Abstract

Whipple's disease, an infection with the recently identified intracellular bacillus Tropheryma whippelii, is a systemic disorder that can be life threatening when untreated. In a few patients, the signs and symptoms of the disease are similar to those of sarcoidosis, and this illness is referred to as sarcoidlike Whipple's disease. This variant must be recognized because patients with sarcoidlike Whipple's disease must be treated with antibiotics instead of corticosteroids, which would be indicated for patients with true sarcoidosis. We describe a 53-year-old man who had sarcoidlike Whipple's disease with polyvisceral granulomatous dissemination that was treated with procaine penicillin G and streptomycin followed by doxycycline. His condition initially improved. However, during his 4-month course of treatment he developed a cerebral relapse; this relapse was successfully treated with ceftriaxone and cefixime.