Long-term morbidity and mortality in Whipple's disease: a single-center experience over 20 years

Background:Little is known about long-term morbidity and mortality in Whipple's disease (WD).Aim:To describe morbidity and mortality in patients with WD on a long-term follow-up.Materials & methods:Comorbidities, mortality and causes of death were retrospectively registered.Results: A total of 35 patients with WD (9F, 54 +/- 11 years) were followed-up for a median of 104 months. Nine patients developed ten complications; three patients died. A total of 31 severe comorbidities apparently unrelated to WD were found in 20 patients: preneoplastic/neoplastic disorders in seven, thromboembolic and cardiovascular events in seven, pneumonia in four, candidiasis in ten patients.Conclusion:WD is frequently complicated by potentially life-threatening infectious, neoplastic and thromboembolic disorders, thus highlighting the need for a life-long multidisciplinary follow-up.