A 50-year-old homeless man with a 30-year history of alcoholism complains of painful lesions on the mucous membranes of his mouth and tongue and has pigmented keratotic scaling lesions on his face and hands. In addition, he is weak, forgetful, and has burning sensations in various parts of the body and diarrhea. A deficiency of which of the following is most likely to account for these findings?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The symptoms described are indicative of pellagra, which is caused by a deficiency of niacin (vitamin B3). Pellagra is characterized by the "three Ds": dermatitis, diarrhea, and dementia, which align with the patient's symptoms of keratotic scaling lesions, diarrhea, and forgetfulness, respectively.

A 50-Year-Old Homeless Man with a 30-Year History of Alcoholism