International Clinical and Medical Case Reports Journal (ISSN: 2832-5788) | Volume 3, Issue 4 | Case Report | Open Access DOI
Sabastain Forsah*
Sabastain Forsah1*, Divine Arrey Agbor1, Ugwendun Derek1, Shannia Amoah1, Davene James-Gregory1, Gauvin Kankeu Tonpouwo1, Nancelle Ndema1, Akua Aboah Taylor1 and Jay Nfonoyim1 1Richmond University Medical center, Staten Island, New York, USA
*Correspondence to: Sabastain Forsah
Fulltext PDFWernicke encephalopathy (WE) is an acute neurologic condition caused by thiamine deficiency. It is characterized by the triad of eye signs, cerebellar signs and altered mental status, though not all patients with WE manifest all the features of the triad. The most common cause of WE are alcohol use disorder. The diagnosis of WE is mostly made by clinical examination with many cases missed by medical personnel during physical examination. Imaging modality of choice is a brain magnetic resonance imaging. In a person deficient in thiamine, WE can be induced by infection, prolonged consumption of carbohydrate and a glucose load. Medications have rarely been reported as precipitating agents. Our case is that of a 55-year-old female with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who presented with syncope after she was recently started on tizanidine. Patient during the course of admission was diagnosed of WE with no obvious inducing factor, suggesting a possible relationship between the newly prescribed tizanidine and the precipitation of WE. The diagnosis of WE would have been missed if the family did not identify that the patient’s mental status had significantly changed from baseline. This case shows that physicians have to actively look for WE in all patients with AUD and they also have to involve family members in patient care. This case also calls for more research to be carried out to ascertain if tizanidine could be a possible trigger for WE.
Wernicke encephalopathy; Chronic; Tizanidine
Forsah S, Agbor DA, Derek U, et al., Wernicke Encephalopathy, A Near Miss, in A Chronic Alcoholic Recently Started on Tizanidine; Could There be A Relationship Between Wernicke Encephalopathy and Tizanidine?. IntClinc MedCaseRepJour.2024;3(4):1-7.