Prevalence of Low Plasma Vitamin B1 in the Stroke Population Admitted to Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation

Objective: To determine the prevalence of vitamin B1 (VitB1) deficiency in the stroke population admitted to acute inpatient rehabilitation.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Acute inpatient rehabilitation facility at an academic medical center.

Participants: 119 consecutive stroke patients admitted to stroke service from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main outcome measures: Plasma VitB1 level.

Results: There were 17 patients (14%; 95% CI 9-22%) with low VitB1 with a range of 2-3 nmol/L, an additional 58 (49%; CI 40-58%) patients had normal low VitB1 with a range of 4-9 nmol/L, twenty-five patients (21%; CI 15-29%) had normal high VitB1 with a range of 10-15 nmol/L, and nineteen patients (16%; CI 10-24%) had high VitB1 with a range of 16-43 nmol/L.

Conclusions: In this cohort of patients admitted to the stroke service at an acute rehabilitation facility, there is evidence of thiamine deficiency. Moreover, the data suggest that there is inadequate acute intake of VitB1. Given the role of thiamine deficiency in neurologic function, further study of the role of thiamine optimization in the acute stroke rehabilitation population is warranted.