THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS AT RISK OF DEVELOPING WERNICKE'S ENCEPHALOPATHY IN THE COMMUNITY
Open Access
- 29 December 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Alcohol and Alcoholism
- Vol. 41 (2), 159-167
- https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agh250
Abstract
Aim: To review the process of identifying alcohol-dependent patients at risk of developing Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) in the community, and prophylactic treatment options. Methods: Non-systematic literature review of the diagnosis of thiamine deficiency and of its treatment in the community. The role of supplementation of beer and bread with thiamine was evaluated. Results: The diagnosis of thiamine deficiency is not always made, and treatment apparently may sometimes be inadequate. Conclusions: Alcohol-dependent patients in the community who are at risk of developing WE should be given thiamine 250 mg, intramuscularly, daily for 3–5 days as part of a community detoxification programme. Further work is essential to determine the optimum dose of thiamine required to prevent permanent brain damage (Korsakoff's Psychosis). Neurotoxicity, due to the metabolism of excessive alcohol in patients with chronic and severe alcohol dependence, must be considered as an important factor in determining the long-term outcome of treatment.Keywords
This publication has 32 references indexed in Scilit:
- THIAMINE ADMINISTRATION IN ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT PATIENTSAlcohol and Alcoholism, 2004
- The Treatment of Drinking ProblemsPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2003
- Thiamin Treatment and Working Memory Function of Alcohol‐Dependent People: Preliminary FindingsAlcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2001
- An international perspective on the prevalence of the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndromeMetabolic Brain Disease, 1995
- The prevalence of the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome in Sydney, Australia: a prospective necropsy study.Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1989
- Clinical signs in the Wernicke-Korsakoff complex: a retrospective analysis of 131 cases diagnosed at necropsy.Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1986
- The incidence of Wernicke's encephalopathy in Australia--a neuropathological study of 131 cases.Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1983
- Prevention of the Wernicke-Korsakoff SyndromeThe New England Journal of Medicine, 1978
- ABSORPTION, UTILIZATION AND CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF ALLITHIAMINES COMPARED TO WATER-SOLUBLE THIAMINESJournal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, 1976
- Extraocular Palsy and Thiamine Therapy in Wernicke’s EncephalopathyThe American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1969