gastrointestinal disorders
Tropical Sprue
Diagnosis of Tropical Sprue
Endoscopy with small-bowel biopsy Blood tests to screen for consequences of malabsorption Tropical sprue is suspected in people who live in or have visited areas where the disease is endemic and who have megaloblastic anemia and symptoms of malabsorption. ) usually involve the entire small bowel and include blunting of the villi with infiltration of chronic inflammatory cells in the epithelium and lamina propria. Celiac Disease and Additional laboratory studies (eg, complete blood count;albumin; calcium; prothrombin time; iron, folate, and B12 levels) help evaluate nutritional status. Barium small-bowel follow-through may show segmentation of the barium, dilation of the lumen, and thickening of the mucosal folds. D-xylose absorption is abnormal in>90% of cases. However, these tests are not specific or essential for diagnosis of tropical sprue. 