Common feature: infant breast fed by mothers with thiamine deficiency
Types of presentations:
(1) cardiac
(2) aphonic
(3) pseudomeningitic
Cardiac presentation (usual onset age 1-3 months):
(1) peripheral edema
(2) breathlessness, cyanosis and pulmonary edema
(3) enlargement of the heart and liver
(4) colic and restlessness
(5) anorexia and vomiting
(6) decreased urine output
(7) sudden death, which may occur within hours of onset
Aphonic presentation (usual onset age 4-6 months):
(1) cries at the onset but eventually no sound is produced when crying
(2) restlessness
(3) breathlessness
(4) peripheral edema.
Pseudomeningitic (encephalitic; usual onset 7-9 months):
(1) nystagmus
(2) muscle twitching
(3) bulging fontanelle
(4) convulsions
(5) reduced levels of consciousness
(6) stiffness of the neck
(7) sweating
(8) vomiting
