A Case Report of Nonalcoholic Gayet-Wernicke Encephalopathy: Don't Miss Thiamine

A A Pract. 2020 Jun;14(8):e01230. doi: 10.1213/XAA.0000000000001230.

Abstract

Gayet-Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) is an acute neurological disorder resulting from deficiency of thiamine, commonly related to chronic abuse of alcohol, but frequently missed or overlooked as a diagnosis when a nonalcoholic patient presents with atypical signs and symptoms of the disease. The diagnosis of the disease is clinical, and confirmation is done by magnetic resonance imaging. We aim to highlight a case of WE in a nonalcoholic postoperative surgical patient receiving total parental nutrition where high-dose intravenous administration of thiamine in time mitigated the symptoms of disease and prevented permanent neurological sequelae. We spotlight the significance of adequate thiamine for postoperative malnourished surgical patients.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aftercare
  • Humans
  • India / ethnology
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
  • Male
  • Postoperative Complications
  • Thiamine / administration & dosage
  • Thiamine / therapeutic use*
  • Thiamine Deficiency / complications*
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Vitamin B Complex / administration & dosage
  • Vitamin B Complex / therapeutic use
  • Wernicke Encephalopathy / diagnostic imaging*
  • Wernicke Encephalopathy / pathology
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Vitamin B Complex
  • Thiamine