[pubmed] Developing outcome measures of disease activity in Pediatric Myasthenia

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Muscle Nerve. 2021 Feb 18. doi: 10.1002/mus.27208. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Pediatric myasthenia encompasses juvenile myasthenia gravis (JMG) and congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS) which are chronic disorders with fluctuating symptoms amenable to medical therapy. Disease activity and treatment response may be difficult to assess but unlike adults outcome measures have not been developed in children.

METHODS: The study was performed in children (0-18 years) at the neuromuscular center of a pediatric hospital over a 3-year period. Patients were recruited prospectively as part of their routine clinical care. Demographic data, diagnosis (JMG/CMS), and the following scales were recorded at each visit: Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America class (MGFA), Myasthenia Gravis Composite (MGC) and Pediatric Myasthenia Quality of Life 15(PM-QOL15).

RESULTS: 33 patients (24 JMG, 9 CMS) were included in the study, 22 had two or more visits. We established known-groups validity of the MGC and PM-QOL15 scores as compared to the MGFA class. To establish concurrent validity, we constructed a ROC curve and calculated threshold values of MGC and PM-QOL15 with optimal sensitivity and specificity for identifying a patient with more severe (MGFA III or higher) disease. Finally, we demonstrated the concordance between the MGC and PM-QOL15 by their statistically significant positive Pearson's and Spearman correlations.

DISCUSSION: Our study suggests that MGC and PM-QOL15 are important disease outcome measures in pediatric myasthenia that are easy to administer and provide reliable assessment of disease activity in the clinic setting. Further studies are needed to validate their use for pediatric clinical research trials. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:33604899 | DOI:10.1002/mus.27208


Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3360489 ... 1&v=2.14.2