Table. Patient Characteristics.
| Characteristic | Rituximab | Control | P value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All (n = 72) | New-onset MG (n = 24) | Refractory MG (n = 34) | Untreated MG>12 mo (n = 14) | New-onset MG (n = 26) | Refractory vs new-onset MG, rituximab | New-onset MG, rituximab vs control | |
| Age at onset, mean (SD), y | 54 (19) | 57 (20) | 53 (18) | 52 (20) | 68 (11) | .49 | .02 |
| Sex, No. (%) | |||||||
| Men | 41 (57) | 14 (58) | 20 (59) | 7 (50) | 23 (88) | NA | NA |
| Women | 31 (43) | 10 (42) | 14 (41) | 7 (50) | 3 (12) | >.99 | .78 |
| Early-onset MG, No. (%) | 26 (36) | 9 (38) | 11 (32) | 6 (43) | 3 (12) | .78 | .02 |
| Acetylcholine receptor antibody–positive, No. (%) | 60 (83) | 20 (83) | 28 (82) | 12 (86) | 24 (92) | .47 | .24 |
| Thymectomy, No. (%) | 30 (42) | 9 (38) | 16 (47) | 5 (36) | 11 (42) | .59 | .78 |
| Hyperplasia, No. (%) | 12 (17) | 4 (17) | 5 (15) | 3 (21) | 0 | >.99 | .046 |
| Thymoma, No. (%) | 10 (14) | 3 (13) | 5 (15) | 2 (14) | 6 (23) | >.99 | .47 |
| QMG score, mean (SD)a | |||||||
| Baseline | 7 (5) | 8 (4) | 7 (5) | 6 (5) | 8 (5) | .52 | .96 |
| Maximum | 10 (5) | 10 (5) | 11 (5) | 8 (4) | 11 (5) | .25 | .56 |
| Clinical visits | 8 (3) | 9 (2) | 8 (4) | 5 (2) | 16 (7) | .41 | <.001 |
| Reconstructed QMG score, No. (%) | 52 (30) | 50 (24) | 49 (31) | 36 (36) | 63 (28) | .88 | .09 |
| Age at treatment start, mean (SD), y | 60 (18) | 58 (20) | 63 (16) | 56 (19) | 68 (11) | .24 | .03 |
| Time from disease onset to treatment, mean (SD), mo | 67 (95) | 5 (4) | 122 (113) | 41 (39) | 5 (3) | <.001 | .39 |
| Follow-up time after treatment start, mean (SD), mo | 40 (19) | 44 (15) | 40 (23) | 30 (15) | 97 (40) | .44 | <.001 |
Abbreviations: MG, myasthenia gravis; NA, not applicable; QMG, Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis.
a
The QMG score is a 13-item scale; each item is scored from 0 (no impairment) to 3 (severe impairment), yielding a total score with a possible range from 0 to 39.