title: Wernicke's encephalopathy complicating pregnancy in a woman with neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis and resultant chronic malabsorption.
abstract: Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) is a metabolic disturbance resulting from severe thiamine deficiency classically described in malnourished alcoholics. Untreated, it can result in stupor, coma, and death. WE has previously been reported as a complication of pregnancy in women with hyperemesis gravidarum. We report a case of WE complicating pregnancy in a woman with chronic malabsorption secondary to premature birth and subsequent necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Our patient progressed through classic stages of WE before lapsing into a coma. She made a complete recovery after aggressive intravenous thiamine and nutritional support. This is the first report of WE in pregnancy secondary to NEC-related chronic malabsorption. We report this case to bring attention to a potential pregnancy complication affecting women with malabsorptive conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Ned L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wiegand
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: McKenna
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D017359:HELLP Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008286:Malabsorption Syndromes / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D035583:Rare Diseases; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014899:Wernicke Encephalopathy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy