Criteria

Operational criteria for the classification of chronic alcoholics: identification of Wernicke's encephalopathy (Caine’s criteria)[79]

Operational criteria have been proposed to guide the presumptive diagnosis by requiring two of the four conditions:

  • Dietary deficiency

  • Oculomotor abnormalities

  • Cerebellar dysfunction

  • Altered mental state or mild memory impairment

While these criteria show good inter-rater reliability, the criteria have not been tested prospectively or replicated in other studies.

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