Beriberi

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Beriberi

Alternative Names:

Thiamine deficiency; Vitamin B1 deficiency

Treatment:

Thiamine can be administered by injection and with pills. Patients should also receive therapeutic doses of other water-soluble vitamins.

Expectations (prognosis):

Following thiamine treatment, the symptoms should improve rapidly. Cardiac damage is usually reversible and is not permanent. Full recovery is expected. However, if acute heart failure has already occurred, the outlook is poor.

Nervous system damage is also reversible, if caught early. If not, some symptoms (such as memory loss) may not be completely recovered with treatment.

Untreated, beriberi is often fatal.

Complications:

Psychosis
Coma
Congestive heart failure
Death

Calling your health care provider:

Beriberi is extremely rare in the United States. However, if you feel your family's diet is inadequate or poorly balanced and you or your children have any of the described symptoms, call your health care provider.

Review Date: 8/17/2004
Reviewed By: Specific sections updated by Jacqueline A. Hart, M.D., Senior Medical Editor, A.D.A.M., Inc. Previously reviewed by Sreeni Jonnalagadda, M.D., Interventional and Pancreatobiliary Endoscopy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network (2/12/2004).

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