Thymectomy is more effective than conservative treatment for myasthenia gravis regarding outcome and clinical improvement.
Standard
Thymectomy is more effective than conservative treatment for myasthenia gravis regarding outcome and clinical improvement. / Bachmann, Kai; Burkhardt, Doreen; Schreiter, Inken; Kaifi, Jussuf; Schurr, Paulus; Busch, Christoph; Thayssen, Günther; Izbicki, Jakob R.; Strate, Tim.
In: SURGERY, Vol. 145, No. 4, 4, 2009, p. 392-398.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
T1 - Thymectomy is more effective than conservative treatment for myasthenia gravis regarding outcome and clinical improvement.
AU - Bachmann, Kai
AU - Burkhardt, Doreen
AU - Schreiter, Inken
AU - Kaifi, Jussuf
AU - Schurr, Paulus
AU - Busch, Christoph
AU - Thayssen, Günther
AU - Izbicki, Jakob R.
AU - Strate, Tim
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - BACKGROUND: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease with a tremendous impact on the quality of life. Controversies over which patients should be operated on because they may benefit most from thymectomy are still ongoing. The aim of this study was to report our long-term results of patients with MG with comparison of thymectomy and conservative treatment. METHODS: We report a series of 252 patients with MG. Survival data were generated. Patients were seen in the outpatient clinic, where a modified Osserman score and quality of life score were evaluated at the end of the follow-up period for all surviving patients. RESULTS: A total of 172 patients with MG were followed after thymectomy or with conservative treatment for a median time of 9.8 years. Patients who underwent thymectomy had significantly greater rates of remission and improvement compared with conservative treatment. Furthermore, they had a significantly greater survival. CONCLUSION: Currently, different effective modalities of treatment are available in patients with MG. In our long-term follow-up, thymectomy was superior to conservative treatment regarding overall survival, clinical improvement, and remission rate. Therefore, thymectomy should be considered strongly for all patients with generalized MG.
AB - BACKGROUND: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease with a tremendous impact on the quality of life. Controversies over which patients should be operated on because they may benefit most from thymectomy are still ongoing. The aim of this study was to report our long-term results of patients with MG with comparison of thymectomy and conservative treatment. METHODS: We report a series of 252 patients with MG. Survival data were generated. Patients were seen in the outpatient clinic, where a modified Osserman score and quality of life score were evaluated at the end of the follow-up period for all surviving patients. RESULTS: A total of 172 patients with MG were followed after thymectomy or with conservative treatment for a median time of 9.8 years. Patients who underwent thymectomy had significantly greater rates of remission and improvement compared with conservative treatment. Furthermore, they had a significantly greater survival. CONCLUSION: Currently, different effective modalities of treatment are available in patients with MG. In our long-term follow-up, thymectomy was superior to conservative treatment regarding overall survival, clinical improvement, and remission rate. Therefore, thymectomy should be considered strongly for all patients with generalized MG.
M3 - SCORING: Zeitschriftenaufsatz
VL - 145
SP - 392
EP - 398
JO - SURGERY
JF - SURGERY
SN - 0039-6060
IS - 4
M1 - 4
ER -
