Wernicke's Encephalopathy: Increasing Clinician Awareness of This Serious, Enigmatic, Yet Treatable Disease.

Objective: Undiagnosed and/or undertreated Wernicke's encephalopathy can result in permanent brain damage, long-term institutionalization, and death. The purpose of this article is to heighten clinical awareness of Wernicke's encephalopathy and shed light on its diagnosis and treatment, which are often inconsistent due to unclear diagnostic criteria and limited practice guidelines. An update on the management of Wernicke's encephalopathy is presented and several case reports and a quality improvement project from our hospital are described.