Predictors of clinical outcome following extended thymectomy in myasthenia gravis

Abstract

Objective: Thymectomy remains as the optimal treatment of choice in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), however, the selection criteria for surgery remains controversial. Methods: We examined the data charts of patients with MG underwent extended thymectomy. We investigated the possible correlations between the clinicopathologic features and clinical outcomes, and analyzed the data to clarify the effect of prognostic factors on clinical outcome. Results: A total of 61 patients with a mean age of 35.8 +/- 12.2 years (range, 13-66 years) were analyzed. The overall improvement/remission and clinical worsening rates were 81.9 and 18.1%, respectively. Ossermann stage (P = 0.011) and presence of mediastinal ectopic thymic tissue (P = 0.007) showed a significant correlation with the clinical outcome. Multivariate analysis confirmed Ossermann stage (P = 0.0158), and presence of mediastinal ectopic thymic tissue (P = 0.0100) as independent predictors on clinical outcome. Conclusion: Ossermann stage and the presence of mediastinal ectopic thymic tissue are potential predictors on clinical outcome in patients with MG undergoing extended thymectomy. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.