Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a rare, long-term neuromuscular disorder that can affect individuals of any age. In Japan, the Omicron variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) began spreading in 2022, and many cases of neurological symptoms caused by the virus have been reported. Although COVID-19 has been reported to exacerbate MG in adults, there are no reports on the effects of COVID-19 on the MG symptoms of pediatric patients. We report the case of a 6-year-old girl with a 3-year history of MG who presented to our hospital with symptom exacerbation after COVID-19 infection. Four days before admission, she developed fever with a runny nose and cough. Three days before admission, she developed severe bilateral blepharoptosis and progressive limb weakness, and 2 days before admission, she was diagnosed with COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 antigen test. Physical examination revealed moderate blepharoptosis and mild bilateral upper and lower limb weakness. We diagnosed her with worsening MG due to COVID-19, and she was administered 400 mg/kg intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) daily for 5 days with continued oral corticosteroids and tacrolimus. The patient's symptoms improved promptly after admission and, at discharge 7 days after admission, her symptoms had significantly improved. During the 1-month outpatient follow-up period, she remained stable and the anti-acetylcholine receptor (AchR) antibody level was reduced to 14.6 nmol/L (from 18.5 nmol/L on admission). Our case suggests that COVID-19 exacerbates MG in both children and adults.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.