[2 cases of Whipple's disease with different outcomes]

A 45-year-old man developed migratory arthritis and fever, at first believed to be caused by rheumatoid arthritis. Whipple's disease was eventually diagnosed after a malabsorption syndrome had occurred and biopsies been taken from the distal duodenum and jejunum. The patient was cured after several months on tetracycline. In a second case, a 73-year-old woman, malabsorption of six months' duration resulting from Whipple's disease had brought about such deterioration that after hospitalisation she died despite a correct diagnosis and an appropriate treatment.