Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Sep 1987
Case ReportsExacerbation of a case of myasthenia gravis during therapeutic electric stimulation.
In patients with myasthenia gravis, vigorous exercise and electric stimulation produce weakness that is usually reversed by rest. We describe a case of persistent weakness in a 31-year-old woman with myasthenia gravis following therapeutic electric stimulation. She was injured in an automobile accident, with cervical and lumbar muscle strain diagnosed by a local emergency room physician. ⋯ The exacerbation of myasthenia responded to prednisone and increased pyridostigmine. After two months she required only her preinjury dose of pyridostigmine (60 mg q.d. p.r.n.) to prevent diplopia or fatigue, and her strength was normal. Repeated electrically induced muscle contraction is suspected of causing this exacerbation of myasthenia gravis.