Multiple cerebral metastases mimicking Wernicke's encephalopathy in a chronic alcoholic.
OBJECTIVE
Alcohol dependent patients in withdrawal display a wide spectrum of neurological and neuropsychological symptoms that complicate diagnosis. We report the case of a 53-year-old male alcoholic with disorientation, ataxia and nystagmus in alcohol withdrawal probably due not to initial supposed Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) but rather due to multiple cerebral metastases of a non-small cell cancer of the lung.


RESULTS
The findings illustrate the importance of initially maintaining a tentative attitude toward causation of symptoms and the role of brain imaging in formulating an accurate diagnosis.
Yaldizli
Ozgur
O
Psychiatric University Clinic, University of Basel, Wilhelm-Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland.
Wurst
Friedrich M
FM
Euler
Sebastian
S
Willi
Berenika
B
Wiesbeck
Gerhard
G
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001259:Ataxia / Q000150:complications; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014899:Wernicke Encephalopathy / Q000175:diagnosis*