Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Thymectomy in the Myasthenia Gravis Patient Registry

Authors

Ali G. Hamedani, Departments of Neurology and Ophthalmology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Tarrant O. McPherson, Department of Biostatistics, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham AL.
Inmaculada Aban, Department of Biostatistics, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham AL.
Ikjae Lee, Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Mark J. Kupersmith, Departments of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, New York, NY.
Gil I. Wolfe, Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY; and.
Henry J. Kaminski, Department of Neurology, George Washington University, Washington, DC.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

6-1-2023

Journal

Journal of clinical neuromuscular disease

Volume

24

Issue

4

DOI

10.1097/CND.0000000000000449

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate patient attitudes and beliefs toward thymectomy for myasthenia gravis (MG). METHODS: The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America administered a questionnaire to the MG Patient Registry, an ongoing longitudinal survey of adult MG patients. Questions assessed reasons for or against thymectomy and how hypothetical scenarios would have affected their decision. RESULTS: Of 621 respondents, 190 (31%) reported a history of thymectomy. Of those who underwent thymectomy for nonthymomatous MG, 97 (51.6%) ranked symptom improvement as most important and 100 (53.2%) ranked reducing medication as least important. Among 431 nonthymectomy patients, the most frequent reason for not undergoing thymectomy was that their doctor did not discuss it (152 of 431 = 35.2%) and 235 (56.8%) said that they would have considered it more strongly if their doctor spent more time discussing it. CONCLUSIONS: Thymectomies are motivated more by symptoms than by medication, and a lack of neurologist discussion is the most common barrier to thymectomy.

APA Citation

Hamedani, Ali G.; McPherson, Tarrant O.; Aban, Inmaculada; Lee, Ikjae; Kupersmith, Mark J.; Wolfe, Gil I.; and Kaminski, Henry J., "Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Thymectomy in the Myasthenia Gravis Patient Registry" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 2801.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/2801

Department

Neurology