Conclusions:
Early treatment with parenteral thiamine can prevent the cognitive
complications of Wernicke’s encephalopathy. Our case illustrates that,
in a setting such as pregnancy, where there is an enhanced metabolic
requirement of thiamine, one must have a high index of suspicion in
patients presenting with visual loss and other features of Wernicke’s
encephalopathy. This would prevent a potential delay in diagnosis and
facilitate urgent treatment with parenteral thiamine.