Beriberi cardiomyopathy

In Indonesia beriberi is still endemic, but subclinical cases are not uncommon. Three patients suffering from beriberi presented with different clinical manifestations. One had the classical features of Shoshin beriberi and the other two had the non-alcoholic cardiac beriberi (chronic type). The car...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEuropean journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 46; no. 3; p. 227
Main Authors Djoenaidi, W, Notermans, S L, Dunda, G
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.03.1992
Subjects
Adult
Beriberi - complications
Cardiomyopathies - drug therapy
Cardiomyopathies - etiology
Cardiomyopathy, Alcoholic - drug therapy
Cardiomyopathy, Alcoholic - etiology
Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory
Fursultiamin - therapeutic use
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases - etiology
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases - physiopathology
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Summary:In Indonesia beriberi is still endemic, but subclinical cases are not uncommon. Three patients suffering from beriberi presented with different clinical manifestations. One had the classical features of Shoshin beriberi and the other two had the non-alcoholic cardiac beriberi (chronic type). The cardiac symptoms of all three patients responded dramatically to thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide; there was also some improvement of their polyneuropathy, consistent with the neurophysiologic findings and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs). We conclude that SSEPs provide additional clinical information on beriberi polyneuropathy. The mortality of untreated cardiovascular beriberi is high. In view of the harmless nature of the treatment, a good case could be made for routine administration of thiamine to all patients in whom heart failure is present without clear evidence of the cause.
ISSN:0954-3007