[Whipple's disease]

[The spring of artificial intelligence: AI vs. expert for internal medicine cases]

INTRODUCTION

The "Printemps de la Médecine Interne" are training days for Francophone internists. The clinical cases presented during these days are complex. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic capabilities of non-specialized artificial intelligence (language models) ChatGPT-4 and Bard by confronting them with the puzzles of the "Printemps de la Médecine Interne".

METHOD

Clinical cases from the "Printemps de la Médecine Interne" 2021 and 2022 were submitted to two language models: ChatGPT-4 and Bard. In case of a wrong answer, a second attempt was offered. We then compared the responses of human internist experts to those of artificial intelligence.

RESULTS

Of the 12 clinical cases submitted, human internist experts diagnosed nine, ChatGPT-4 diagnosed three, and Bard diagnosed one. One of the cases solved by ChatGPT-4 was not solved by the internist expert. The artificial intelligence had a response time of a few seconds.

CONCLUSIONS

Currently, the diagnostic skills of ChatGPT-4 and Bard are inferior to those of human experts in solving complex clinical cases but are very promising. Recently made available to the general public, they already have impressive capabilities, questioning the role of the diagnostic physician. It would be advisable to adapt the rules or subjects of future "Printemps de la Médecine Interne" so that they are not solved by a public language model.

Mixed hemorrhoid with Whipple's disease: A case report and literature review

Whipple disease is a rare infectious disease that involves multiple systems, especially the digestive system. Here we report a case of mixed hemorrhoid with Whipple's disease with regard to medical history, clinical manifestations and pathological data. We also performed a literature review to raise the awareness of this rare disease and improves its clinical diagnosis.

[Diagnostic approach of recurrent fevers of unknown origin in adults]

Recurrent fever of unknown origin is probably the most difficult to diagnose subtype of fever of unknown origin. It represents between 18 and 42% of the cases in large series of patients with fever of unknown origin. The limited literature data do not allow one to construct a diagnostic algorithm. However, the diagnostic strategy is different from classic fever of unknown origin. The spectrum of causative disorders is different from continuous fever with less infections and tumors. Among systemic inflammatory diseases, adult-onset Still's disease is the most common cause. More than 50% of the cases remain unexplained. Hereditary recurrent fevers, the prototype of autoinflammatory diseases, are now more easily discuss in a young adult.

[Whipple disease revealed by anti-TNFα therapy]

INTRODUCTION

Whipple disease is a rare infectious disease with protean clinical manifestations. This infection may mimic chronic inflammatory rheumatisms such as rheumatoid arthritis or spondylarthritis. In this context, introduction of a biotherapy after a diagnostic hesitation does not always lead to early complications. Sometimes, the clinical degradation follows an initial improvement, encouraging continuation of the immunosuppressive treatment and leading consequently to a greater diagnostic delay.

CASE REPORTS

We report two cases of Whipple disease diagnosed in the context of an inflammatory disease with anti-TNFα failure. The first patient was a 53-year-old man who presented with an axial and peripheral spondylarthritis who was treated with etanercept and adalimumab. The second was a 42-year-old man who received adalimumab and then etanercept for a peripheral spondylarthritis.

CONCLUSION

Whipple disease should be suspected in all patients who present with a chronic inflammatory rheumatism that is partially or not controlled with anti-TNFα therapy and who had persisting elevated acute phase reactants.

[Infective endocarditis as the only manifestation of Whipple's disease: an atypical presentation]

Diagnosis of Whipple's disease is difficult, and thus its frequency is probably underestimated, particularly in culture-negative infective endocarditis. However, it must be systematically searched for in such a situation, first because it is associated with a poor natural outcome, and second because Tropheryma whipplei is not covered by the conventional empirical therapy recommended for culture-negative infective endocarditis. Whipple's disease endocarditis is usually associated with weight loss, intestinal and joint involvement. Nevertheless, it is sometimes the only manifestation of the disease, which makes the diagnosis much more difficult. We report the case of a 66-year-old patient with Barlow's disease, who underwent mitral valve replacement for severe mitral regurgitation. Vegetations were observed on the resected valve, both macroscopically and histologically. No microorganism was found at first. The diagnosis of Whipple's disease endocarditis was finally obtained by Polymerase Chain Reaction on valve tissue, and later confirmed by Periodic Acid Schiff staining. The outcome was favorable after a prolonged antibiotic therapy including doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine.

Whipple disease

Whipple disease (WD) is a rare disease caused by Tropheryma whipplei. The classic profile of the patient is that of a middle-aged man presenting with fever, chronic diarrhea, and arthralgias. Extragastrointestinal manifestations are not rare. A high degree of clinical suspicion for the disease is needed in atypical cases. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is the treatment of choice. We present two patients with WD. The first presented with melena and generalized hyperpigmentation. The second had depression for two years before the typical symptoms. Both hyperpigmentation and long-lasting depression without the typical manifestations of the disease are rare. Histologic examination of tissue biopsies was diagnostic for WD. Both patients were treated successfully with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.