Wernicke's Encephalopathy Presenting as Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Benjamin S H Bryant; Paul D Ehrlichman Jr; David Hewson; John W Sanders; Christopher H Chu

doi:10.7759/cureus.7378

Wernicke's Encephalopathy Presenting as Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Cureus. 2020 Mar 23;12(3):e7378. doi: 10.7759/cureus.7378.

Authors

Benjamin S H Bryant¹, Paul D Ehrlichman Jr¹, David Hewson¹, John W Sanders², Christopher H Chu¹

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, USA.
² Infectious Diseases, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, USA.

Abstract

Sleeve gastrectomy is a restrictive-type weight loss surgery that can result in nutritional deficiencies, such as vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency. Although Wernicke's encephalopathy is a known complication following bariatric surgery, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is a rare presenting symptom of this condition. We present a case of a patient two months postoperative following a sleeve gastrectomy whose chief complaint was hearing loss. While initial laboratory evaluation of her complaint showed elevated inflammatory markers, prompting an autoimmune workup, ultimately the diagnosis of Wernicke's encephalopathy was confirmed by a low thiamine level and magnetic resonance imaging findings. A correction of the patient's thiamine deficiency led to an improvement of her symptoms.

Keywords: encephalopathy; hearing loss; thiamine; wernicke.

Publication types

Case Reports