[Wernicke's encephalopathy and dialysis: report of two cases].

Abstract

Wernicke encephalopathy is considered a complication of dialytic therapy, but there are few reports of this complication. We report a 57 years old man and a 45 years old woman, with grade IV renal failure, who after acute peritoneodialysis and chronic hemodialysis respectively, had a confusional syndrome that responded to the administration of thiamine. CT scans in both patients discarded abnormal blood collections or new cerebrovascular episodes. The man bad two previous cerebrovascular episodes, a severe anemia that was corrected, angina and an episode of arrhythmia during the dialytic procedure previous to the confusional episode. The woman had an acute uremic syndrome and a concomitant urinary tract infection during the confusional episode. Wernicke encephalopathy must be suspected in patients in dialysis with confusional episodes.

• Authors: J Toro, C Sacks, R Fuentes
• Journal: Revista medica de Chile (Rev Med Chil) Vol. 125 Issue 5 Pg. 577-81 (May 1997) ISSN: 0034-9887 [Print] Chile
• Vernacular Title: Encefalopatía de Wernicke y diálisis: dos casos clínicos.
• PMID: 9497580 (Publication Type: Case Reports, English Abstract, Journal Article)

Topics

• Female
• Humans
• Kidney Failure, Chronic (complications, therapy)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Renal Dialysis (adverse effects)
• Thiamine Deficiency (etiology)
• Wernicke Encephalopathy (diagnosis, etiology)