Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38448808›Full record

ArticleBMC infectious diseases2024

Tropheryma whipplei infection in the lung of a patient with long COVID: a case report.

Wenjing Ruan, Jing Xu, Fan Yang, Xiaohong Wu, Kejing Ying

Open access · goldAbstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Rare but Critical: SevereClinical case reports · 2026
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  4. A case report of AIDS complicated byFrontiers in medicine · 2025
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  5. Clinical Features of Patients withInfection and drug resistance · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Wenjing RuanRegional Medical Center for the National Institute of Respiratory Disease, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 3 East Qingchun Road, 310016, Hangzhou, China. rwj@zju.edu.cn.
Jing XuDepartment of Pathology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Fan YangRegional Medical Center for the National Institute of Respiratory Disease, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 3 East Qingchun Road, 310016, Hangzhou, China.
Xiaohong WuRegional Medical Center for the National Institute of Respiratory Disease, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 3 East Qingchun Road, 310016, Hangzhou, China.
Kejing YingRegional Medical Center for the National Institute of Respiratory Disease, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 3 East Qingchun Road, 310016, Hangzhou, China.
Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital · CNZhejiang University · CN

Funding

the Scientific Research Fund of the Zhejiang Provincial Education Department Y202351581the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China LY17H160007
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundImmune dysregulation in individuals with long COVID has been detected. Differential diagnosis of diffuse infiltration on chest CT in long COVID is challenging. CASE PRESENTATION: A 62-year-old man presented with a 10-month history of dyspnea after COVID-19 infection. Dyspnea became worse in the one month preceding presentation. The chest CT showed multifocal, subpleural, bilateral opacities due to long-COVID, and infiltration around the bronchovascular bundle in the bilateral lower lung field. The pathology for the transbronchial cryobiopsy (TBCB) first reported chronic inflammation (mainly interstitial pneumonia). The patient had positive results on tests for the antibody, RO-52+, EJ+. The presumptive diagnosis of connective tissue disease-interstitial lung disease was made. Prednisone and cyclophosphamide were given. At follow-up one month later, the chest CT showed new diffuse ground-glass infiltration. The previous TBCB specimen was re-evaluated. Foamy macrophages were found in the alveolar air space. Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining was performed. Numerous intracytoplasmic organisms were detected, with morphologic features consistent with those of Tropheryma whipplei. The patient recovered after intravenous ceftriaxone and oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The final diagnosis was lung T. whipplei infection and long COVID-19.

conclusionThis is the first case report of Tropheryma whipplei infection in the lung of a patient with long COVID-19. T. whipplei should be considered as a potential pathogen for diffuse lung infiltration in the post-COVID-19 era.

Indexed as

Actinomycetales InfectionsCOVID-19DyspneaHumansLungMaleMiddle AgedPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeTropherymaLong COVIDLungTropheryma whipplei

Identifiers

PMID38448808
PMCPMC10916207
OpenAlexW4392499949

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.