Characteristics and healthcare utilization of patients with myasthenia gravis exacerbation

This retrospective cohort study describes the characteristics of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) who developed exacerbations (MG-E) and compares their healthcare utilization (HRU) to patients who did not experience exacerbations (MG-O). De-identified data from patients who had ≥2 MG-related diagnostic code submissions were extracted from the National Veterans Affairs Health Care Network electronic health records between 1999 and 2022. Descriptive statistics, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and per-patient per-year (PPPY) HRU were used to compare the two patient groups. About 34 % (3603/10,718) of patients with MG developed exacerbations over a median follow-up of 6.8 years. Approximately 52 % of the MG-E cohort had 3 or more exacerbations over the study period, averaging 1.34 (SD 2.50) exacerbations per year. The MG-E cohort had a higher incidence of early-onset MG (7.72 % vs. 4.05 %; p