Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for more information

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Child Neurology
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tracy, M. M.
Right arrow Articles by Millichap, J. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tracy, M. M.
Right arrow Articles by Millichap, J. G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Graded Response to Thymectomy in Children With Myasthenia Gravis

Molly M. Tracy, MD

Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, and Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois

Wes McRae, MD

Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, and Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois

J. Gordon Millichap, MD

Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, and Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois, gmillichap{at}childrensmemorial.org

Response to thymectomy in children with juvenile myasthenia gravis was evaluated using severity and response to therapy rating scales and objective measures of hospital, intensive care, and intubation days, prethymectomy and postthymectomy, as markers of morbidity. Records of 50 patients treated for myasthenia gravis at Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, were reviewed. Thymectomy was performed in 13 patients; average age was 10 years. Days of intubation, intensive care, and hospitalization were significantly less postthymectomy compared to prethymectomy (P < .0001). Osserman rankings postthymectomy were mild (IIa) in 1, moderate (IIb) in 4, and severe (III) in 1. On a response to therapy scale, 4 patients were grade A (complete remission, no medication); 3 were grade B (improvement, lower drug dosage); 3 were grade C (slight improvement and no change in medication); and 3 were grade D (unchanged). Thymectomy is an effective treatment in 62% of children with myasthenia gravis, and remission is complete in 31%.

Key Words: myasthenia gravis • thymectomy • rating scales

Journal of Child Neurology, Vol. 24, No. 4, 454-459 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0883073808325653
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?