ArticleBMC infectious diseases2014
Common subclinical hypothyroidism during Whipple's disease.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Successful Management of Whipple's Disease in a 46-Year-Old British Woman: A Case Report.Cureus · 2025Article
- Correction: Common subclinical hypothyroidism during Whipple's disease.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundClassic Whipple's disease is caused by T. whipplei and likely involves genetic predispositions, such as the HLA alleles DRB1*13 and DQB1*06, that are more frequently observed in patients. T. whipplei carriage occurs in 2-4% of the general population in France. Subclinical hypothyroidism, characterized by high levels of TSH and normal free tetra-iodothyronine (fT4) dosage, has been rarely associated with specific HLA factors.
methodsWe retrospectively tested TSHus in 80 patients and 42 carriers. In cases of dysthyroidism, we tested the levels of free-T4 and anti-thyroid antibodies, and the HLA genotypes were also determined for seven to eight patients.
resultsIn this study, 72-74% of patients and carriers were male, and among the 80 patients, 14 (17%) individuals had a high level of TSH, whereas none of the carriers did (p<0. 01). In the 14 patients with no clinical manifestations, the T4 levels were normal, and no specific antibodies were present. Four patients treated with antibiotics, without thyroxine supplementation, showed normal levels of TSHus after one or two years. One patient displayed a second episode of subclinical hypothyroidism during a Whipple's disease relapse five years later, but the subclinical hypothyroidism regressed after antibiotic treatment. HLA typing revealed nine alleles that appeared more frequently in patients than in the control cohort, but none of these differences reached significance due to the small size of the patient group.
conclusionRegardless of the substratum, classic Whipple's disease could lead to subclinical hypothyroidism. We recommend systematically testing the TSH levels in patients with Whipple's disease.
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