Abstract
The abuse of alcohol presents daily challenges for the emergency medicine physician. Wernicke's encephalopathy represents one of the metabolic complications associated with alcoholism. A classic presentation of Wernicke's encephalopathy is reported. The patient presented to the emergency department with the chief complaint of confusion, difficulty ambulating, and visual disturbances. Following administration of intravenous thiamine, the patient's symptoms spontaneously resolved. The pathophysiology, clinical presentation and therapy of this classic disorder are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 238-240 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | American Journal of Emergency Medicine |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1994 |
Keywords
- Alcoholism
- Wernicke's encephalopathy
- thiamine deficiency
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Emergency Medicine