Prognosis

If Wernicke encephalopathy is not recognized and treated early and adequately with parenteral administration of high-dose thiamine, patients can develop permanent neurologic injury, manifested by impairment of recent and remote memory, apathy, and confabulation (a collection of signs and symptoms characterizing Korsakoff psychosis), along with persistent manifestations of Wernicke encephalopathy, including ataxia and varying degrees of ophthalmoparesis.​[3][23]

Wernicke encephalopathy has a mortality rate of up to 20%, although data on prognosis and mortality is scarce given that the condition is considerably underdiagnosed.[73][88][89] One nationwide study investigating the incidence and mortality of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome reported a standardized mortality ratio of 5.67 (95% CI 5.25 to 6.13) and observed most excess mortality were in alcohol-related cases.[24]

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