Wernicke's encephalopathy: the subacute setting as safety net.

Wernicke's encephalopathy is a disease forgotten but not gone. In the subacute setting, it is likely to appear after a (typically brief) hospital stay requires vigilance and skill to diagnose. Treatment with parenteral thiamine, a safe intervention, is often successful in reversing the neurological manifestations. We argue that the subacute setting is an appropriate setting in which to diagnose and treat Wernicke's encephalopathy and that this disease is but one of many for which the subacute service will be increasingly responsible.