"This research is important because there is very little existing data to guide physicians in recommending vaccination for patients with myasthenia gravis," said Andrew Tarulli, MD, AANEM News Science Editorial Board member.

"Physicians, particularly primary care physicians, may undervaccinate their myasthenic patients because they may be concerned about the possibility of provoking an exacerbation. On the contrary, failure to vaccinate a patient may result in pneumonia or influenza, both of which are common precipitants of myasthenia exacerbations or even myasthenic crises," said Dr. Tarulli.

The AANEM committee members reviewing the research agreed that it is a good first step in collecting data on vaccine-preventable illnesses and should be followed by studies documenting the safety of vaccination conducted in larger cohorts. The ultimate goal would be to produce a set of guidelines for neuromuscular physicians who treat myasthenics.

The study, entitled, Prevalence of Vaccine Preventable Infections in Myasthenia Gravis and its Exacerbations, was conducted by Crystal Dixon, MD, a neurology resident at the University of South Florida. Dr. Dixon received the Best Abstract Runner-Up award from the AANEM for her research.