A Complicated Case of Postpartum Myasthenic Crisis

Abstract

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is the most common autoimmune disorder affecting the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) of voluntary skeletal muscle. This disease is characterized by ptosis, diplopia, facial muscle weakness, bulbar muscle involvement including dysphagia and difficulty chewing, dysarthria, hypophonia, respiratory muscle fatigue, and sometimes generalized weakness. A myasthenic crisis (MC) is a complication of MG. MC is defined as severe worsening of respiratory function necessitating the need for mechanical ventilation. Precipitating factors include infection, certain drugs, pregnancy, childbirth, surgery, discontinuation of medical therapy, or even spontaneously with no inciting event. Here we present a complicated case of a 24-year-old patient with a long history of controlled who encounters many events that lead to an MC necessitating mechanical intubation, plasmapheresis, and high dose immunosuppressive therapy. She recently gave birth to a child, had an occult perforated appendicitis with multiple abscesses needing emergent exploratory laparotomy, and had an overlying COVID-19 infection. The complexity of this disease and its complications warrants careful consideration by physicians in any branch of specialty.