Wernicke's Encephalopathy: A Rare but Avoidable Neurological Complication Associated with Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant

Wernicke's encephalopathy is a metabolic disorder caused by thiamine deficiency, and is characterized by acute mental confusion, ophthalmoplegia and ataxia. Its due to nutritional deficiency arising from prolonged illness affecting nutrition of the patient or requiring parenteral nutrition for prolonged duration, debilitating chronic illnesses like solid organ and lymphoid malignancies. It has been commonly seen chronic alcoholics who have poor oral intake. It is a rare neurologic complication in the setting of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). So, a high index of suspicion should be kept in HSCT patients as delay in early identification may lead to permanent neurologic disability or even mortality.