Case of the month: Unusual presentation of myasthenia gravis with acute respiratory failure in the emergency room.
A 21 year old woman with no past medical history presented to the emergency room (ER) with signs and symptoms of sepsis and subsequently went into acute respiratory failure. She was found to have myasthenia gravis which was exacerbated by the infection. This report highlights the need to consider myasthenia gravis in the differential diagnosis of an otherwise unexplained respiratory failure in the critical care setting.
Vaidya
H
H
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA. huvaidya@yahoo.com
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004630:Emergencies; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology*