Shoshin Beriberi in a Child With Intestinal Failure: A Case Report

BACKGROUND: Acute illness states with increased metabolic demand can precipitate severe thiamine deficiency if physiologic needs exceed endogenous stores and supplementation. Patients with preexisting risk factors such as parenteral nutrition (PN) dependence, eating disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, or surgeries are especially vulnerable. CASE SUMMARY: A 9-year-old girl with short bowel syndrome receiving long-term PN, including standard thiamine supplementation, presented with refractory shock following aspiration. Profound hyperlactatemia, cardiac dysfunction, and vasoactive requirements persisted despite extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and resolved only after treatment with parenteral thiamine. CONCLUSIONS: Hemodynamic collapse due to thiamine deficiency (Shoshin beriberi) may occur during acute illness in children with nutritional risk factors and should be considered in refractory hyperlactatemia. Timely treatment with parenteral thiamine can support dramatic hemodynamic recovery. Treatment of suspected thiamine deficiency should not be delayed for laboratory confirmation as current thiamine reference ranges correlate poorly with clinical severity, and functional testing may not be readily available.