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An unusual presentation of thymoma: dysgeusia, ulcerative colitis, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, autoimmune retinopathy and myasthenia gravis.

Authors :
Sanghi P
Bremner F
Source :
BMJ case reports [BMJ Case Rep] 2022 Jan 13; Vol. 15 (1). Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Jan 13.
Publication Year :
2022

Abstract

A 41-year-old female presented with dysgeusia, dry eyes, nyctalopia with progressive visual field constriction (due to autoimmune retinopathy) and gastrointestinal symptoms (due to ulcerative colitis). She was subsequently admitted to intensive care with a myasthenic crisis, and CT of the thorax demonstrated a thymoma.Following thymectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy, she has remained in complete remission from her ulcerative colitis and myasthenia gravis, her retinopathy has stabilised and there has been no thymoma recurrence over a 10-year postoperative period. There was a brief relapse of her dysgeusia (causing weight loss) and dry eye symptoms 3 years after her surgery, which resolved 8 months later. While the association of thymomas with paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS) is well established, it is unusual to present with multiple PNS, and some of these have only been documented in sparse case reports to date. Thymectomy played a crucial role in improvement and stabilisation of her PNS.<br />Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.<br /> (© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1757-790X
Volume :
15
Issue :
1
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
BMJ case reports
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
35027385
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2021-246861