[Lactic acidosis treated with thiamine. 3 cases].

Of 3 alcoholic patients with severe lactic acidosis, one had shoshin beriberi; the second--a beer drinker--presented with convulsions associated with hyponatraemia and complicated by rhabdomyolysis and was not thiamine-deficient; the third patient had convulsions associated with Korsakoff's syndrome and was thiamine-deficient. In all three patients treatment with thiamine administered alone corrected the lactic acidosis within less than 4 hours. In patient 1, this result was obtained after symptomatic treatment of shock and lactic acidosis had failed and more than 24 hours before the haemodynamic disorders were corrected. In patient 2, who had no haemodynamic nor haematosis disorders, the lactic acidosis was corrected within 2 hours, i.e. more than 24 hours before neurological improvement developed. In patient 3, the lactic acidosis was also corrected within 2 hours. These results suggest that thiamine should figure among the treatments of lactic acidosis in alcoholic patients. Since thiamine alone is capable of correcting severe lactic acidosis, at least in some of these patients, it deserves to be tried in other types of lactic acidosis.