Prognosis

Symptoms of myasthenia gravis usually progress to maximum severity within 3 years. After 3 years, patients usually stabilize or improve. Infants with transient neonatal MG may develop acute respiratory failure within a few weeks after birth.

Advances in medical care have reduced the mortality rate from respiratory failure in MG patients to approximately 3%. Patients over the age of 40, those with a short history of severe disease, and those with thymoma have a worse prognosis.

Prevention

Myasthenia gravis cannot be prevented, but avoiding the following triggers may help patients prevent exacerbations:

• Emotional stress
• Exposure to extreme temperatures
• Fever
• Illness (e.g., respiratory infection, pneumonia, tooth abscess)
• Low levels of potassium in the blood (hypokalemia; caused by diuretics, frequent vomiting)
• Medications (e.g., muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants, certain antibiotics)
• Overexertion

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