Journal
IN VIVO
Volume 31, Issue 1, Pages 121-124Publisher
INT INST ANTICANCER RESEARCH
DOI: 10.21873/invivo.11034
Keywords
Thiamine; vitamin B1; Wernicke's encephalopathy; alcohol
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background: Thiamine deficiency can lead to Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE), an acute and potentially life-threatening neurological disorder. Even though the main treatment modality for WE consists of thiamine replacement, evidence supporting an optimal dosing strategy and duration is unclear. Patients and Methods: We present a single-center case series of eleven patients that were admitted with possible WE and treated with high-dose parenteral thiamine. Results: Patients with suspected WE were treated with >= 500 mg intravenous thiamine for a median of 3 days with 73% of patients (eight out of eleven) displaying symptom resolution or improvement after treatment. No significant correlation between symptom resolution and timing of high-dose thiamine initiation (median=92 h) was identified. In patients whose symptoms resolved compared to those whose symptoms did not, there were no differences in patient variables nor adverse effects related to thiamine treatment. Conclusion: High-dose thiamine (>= 500 mg) appears safe and efficacious for use in patients with suspected WE.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available