A case of inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy with respiratory failure developing after multidisciplinary therapy for invasive thymoma
Saaka Hamanoa Koichi Takayamaa Yoichi Nakanishia Saeko Inamizub Tomomi Yonekawab Jun-ichi Kirab
aResearch Institute for Diseases of the Chest, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University
bDepartment of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University
A 41-year-old woman with invasive thymoma underwent a thymectomy and left panpleuropneumonectomy after intensive chemotherapy and radiation, and she was discharged from the hospital without complications. Two months later, the woman hospitalized as an emergency case with acute respiratory failure. At first we suspected myasthenia gravis as the cause of respiratory failure, but pyridostigmine failed to improve symptoms. Eventually a diagnosis of inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy was confirmed by precise neurological examination, including evoked electromyography. To our knowledge, this is a rare case of thymoma complicated with inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.
Invasive thymoma Guillain-Barré syndrome Respiratory failure
Received 18 Jun 2013 / Accepted 7 Nov 2013
AJRS, 3(2): 237-240, 2014