Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to investigate the clinical effect of high-dose glucocorticoids (GCS) combined with immunosuppressants on the treatment of myasthenia gravis (MG) with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). METHODS: A total of 106 MG patients admitted to the neurology department of our hospital from February 2016 to February 2020 were selected as the study subjects and divided into experimental group (n = 53) and control group (n = 53). The patients in the control group underwent VATS, while the patients in the experimental group were treated with high-dose GCS combined with immunosuppressants on the basis of VATS treatment. The clinical efficacy of different MG treatment methods was analyzed. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in visual analogue score (VAS) at T1 between the two groups (P > 0.05), while VAS scores at T2, T3, and T4 in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.001). In the experimental group, the overall response rate was significantly higher than the control group (P < 0.05). Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) level in regulatory T (Treg) cells in experimental groups after treatment was significantly higher, compared to that in before treatment and the control group (P < 0.05). Similar results of each quantitative MG score were displayed in both groups after treatment, compared to before treatment and the control group (P < 0.05). Clinical performance of patients with lower incidence of adverse reactions in the experimental groups after treatment was significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: GCS combined with immunosuppressants can effectively relieve patients' clinical symptoms and improve their quality of life, with significant clinical efficacy and high safety, which is worthy of application and promotion.