Myasthenic crisis after a renal transplant successfully treated with intravenous immunoglobulin.

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease characterized by muscle weakness. Myasthenic crisis is a life-threatening complication of myasthenia gravis precipitated by several factors. We experienced a myasthenic crisis after a deceased-donor kidney transplant in a 35-year-old woman who already had been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. She received mechanical ventilatory support and intravenous immunoglobulin for treatment of the myasthenic crisis. During the early posttransplant period, she recovered with immediate graft function, and her graft functioning did not deteriorate during the myasthenic crisis. We suggest that physicians be aware of worsening of myasthenia gravis when patients with myasthenia gravis undergo a kidney transplant.