Whipple's syndrome (uveitis, B27-negative spondylarthropathy, meningitis, and lymphadenopathy) associated with Arthrobacter sp infection

Objective: To report an unusual case of Whipple's disease, including uveitis, seronegative spondylarthropathy, meningitis, and lymphadenopathy, associated with an Arthrobacter sp. infection. Design: Interventional case report. Patient and intervention: A 60-year-old white man presenting with severe chronic uveitis and systemic inflammatory manifestations was treated efficiently for Whipple's disease after histopathologic analysis of vitreous and inguinal adenopathy biopsy specimens. The authors performed a retrospective, laboratory-based evaluation of stored tissue specimens. Measurements: Molecular analysis based on 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplification was applied to pretreatment biopsy specimens of inguinal lymph node to identify a causative bacterial agent. Results: Tropheryma whippelii genome was not detected ill these specimens. However, an amplification product was obtained after the first polymerase chain reaction run and subsequently was sequenced. It corresponded to an Arthrobacter sp., a gram-positive agent presenting diagnostic patterns and therapeutic management similar to those of Whipple's disease caused by T. whippelii. Conclusion: The absence of T. whippelii identification by molecular amplification during a clinically and histologically oriented Whipple's syndrome should not rule out the diagnosis. Arthrobacter infection may represent a new bacterial etiology of systemic inflammatory disorders involving the eye and associated with periodic acid-Schiff-positive inclusions.