Demographic information, MG-related history, therapy, and outcomes in the most recent follow-up based on thymectomy status (patients with thymoma and anti-MuSK antibodies were excluded).
| Variables | Thymectomy (n=50)* | No thymectomy (n=31) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean±SD or n (%) | |||
| Current age (years) | 37.7±13.3 | 50.4±19.7 | 0.003 |
| Age at onset (years) | 28.6±10.2 | 44.6±18.2 | <0.001 |
| Disease duration (years) | 9.9±7.7 | 5.7±5.9 | 0.002 |
| Follow-up duration (months) | 38.3±11.9 | 30.5±16.1 | 0.05 |
| MG type | 0.07 | ||
| Ocular | 1 (2.0) | 4 (12.9) | |
| Generalized | 49 (98.0) | 27 (87.1) | |
| MG-QOL15R-A | 6.1±6.3 | 3.6±4.6 | 0.08 |
| MG-ADL-A | 2.0±2.5 | 1.4±2.2 | 0.19 |
| MGCS | 2.1±3.1 | 1.1±2.1 | 0.15 |
| MG-MMT | 3.2±5.9 | 1.0±2.3 | 0.12 |
| MGFA | 0.23 | ||
| CSR | 4 (8.0) | 0 | |
| PR | 21 (42.0) | 20 (64.5) | |
| MGFA I | 5 (10.0) | 5 (16.1) | |
| MGFA II | 18 (36.0) | 6 (19.4) | |
| MGFA III | 2 (4.0) | 0 | |
| MG crisis | 11 (22.0) | 4 (12.9) | 0.31 |
| MG exacerbation | 16 (32.0) | 12 (38.7) | 0.54 |
| Refractory MG | 9 (18.0) | 1 (3.2) | 0.08 |
| Therapy at last follow-up | |||
| Prednisolone | 40 (80.0) | 26 (83.9) | 0.66 |
| Pyridostigmine | 32 (64.0) | 19 (63.3) | 0.81 |
| Azathioprine | 21 (42.0) | 18 (58.1) | 0.19 |
| Mycophenolate | 9 (18.0) | 1 (3.2) | 0.08 |
| Maintenance IVIg | 8 (16.0) | 5 (16.1) | 1.00 |
| Rituximab | 7 (14.0) | 0 | 0.04 |
| Previous IVIg | 28 (56.0) | 13 (41.9) | 0.22 |
| Previous plasma exchange | 6 (12.0) | 0 | 0.08 |
AchR - acetylcholine receptor antibodies, CSR - complete stable remission, IVIg - intravenous immunoglobulin, M - mean, MG - myasthenia gravis, MG-ADL-A - Arabic version of the MG-activity of daily living scale, MG-MMT - MG-manual muscle test score, MGCS - MG composite score, MGFA - MG foundation of America classification, MGFA I - ocular MG, MGFA II - mild generalized MG, MGFA III - moderate generalized MG, MG-QOL15R-A - Arabic version of the MG quality-of-life revised questionnaire, MuSK - muscle specific tyrosine kinase antibodies, PR - pharmacologic remission, SD - standard deviation. Percentages (%) are derived from the total number of patients in the respective columns. All MG-specific outcome measures were derived from the last follow-up clinic visit.
↵* one of the 4 patients with anti-Musk had thymectomy before knowing Musk status