We have located links that may give you full text access.
CASE REPORTS
JOURNAL ARTICLE
REVIEW
Early diagnosis of pediatric Wernicke's encephalopathy.
Pediatric Neurology 1999 April
Wernicke's encephalopathy may be fatal if untreated. Because Wernicke's encephalopathy is suspected to be underdiagnosed in children, the authors wished to assess the frequency of overlooked diagnosis and to establish pertinent findings that could lead to early identification of pediatric Wernicke's encephalopathy. The authors performed multiple literature searches seeking pediatric patients with Wernicke's encephalopathy (age = 20 years or younger). A total of 30 patients was found, and the authors added a new patient. Each case report had its clinical, radiologic, and laboratory data, diagnostic method, and outcome analyzed. Of 31 patients, 16 were female and 15 male; the median age +/- S.D. was 11 +/- 6.5 years. The most frequent underlying disorder was malignancy in 11. Thirteen patients died undiagnosed, 16 recovered with thiamine therapy (eight with sequelae), and two died of infection soon after thiamine replacement was initiated. Only six presented with the Wernicke's encephalopathy clinical triad (mental status changes, ocular signs, and ataxia) at neurologic onset; nine eventually demonstrated this triad. The high rate of patients diagnosed only at postmortem examination (41.9%) confirms that Wernicke's encephalopathy is underdiagnosed in children. Thiamine therapy is warranted if any component of the Wernicke's encephalopathy triad is present in an appropriate clinical setting.
Full text links
Related Resources
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Your Privacy Choices
You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app