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.