Pure red cell aplasia and seronegative myasthenia gravis in association with thymoma

Pure red cell aplasia is an uncommon paraneoplastic syndrome of thymoma. Myasthenia gravis is the most common paraneoplastic syndrome associated with thymoma. We present a case of a 79-year-old Pacific Islander female who presented with profound fatigue, generalized weakness, significant unintention...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of community hospital internal medicine perspectives 2020-05, Vol.10 (3), p.238-241
Main Authors: Lee, Sun Yong, Gill, Amandeep, Jung, Syung Min
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case Report
ice-pack test
myasthenia gravis
paraneoplastic syndrome
pure red cell aplasia
thymoma
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Summary:Pure red cell aplasia is an uncommon paraneoplastic syndrome of thymoma. Myasthenia gravis is the most common paraneoplastic syndrome associated with thymoma. We present a case of a 79-year-old Pacific Islander female who presented with profound fatigue, generalized weakness, significant unintentional weight loss, bilateral ptosis, and anemia. The bone marrow biopsy showed near absence of erythroid elements consistent with pure red cell aplasia. Ice-pack test was consistent with myasthenia gravis and computed tomography of the chest demonstrated a thymoma. The patient was started on immunosuppressive treatment with prednisone and cyclosporine. This case demonstrates a rare combination of paraneoplastic manifestations of thymoma: pure red cell aplasia and myasthenia gravis.
ISSN:2000-9666
2000-9666
DOI:10.1080/20009666.2020.1770019