Longitudinal Analysis of Disease Burden in Refractory and Nonrefractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis in the United States.

Objective: To compare temporal trends in clinical and health care resource utilization (HRU) outcomes in people with refractory and nonrefractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of data from adults with gMG in the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America Patient Registry. gMG status (ever-refractory or always nonrefractory) and clinical (Myasthenia Gravis-Activities of Daily Living [MG-ADL] scores, exacerbations) and HRU outcomes were determined from questionnaires self-completed 6-monthly for up to 4 years.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor usage patterns as risk factors for hospitalization.

The authors examined how differences in SSRI utilization affect the risk of hospitalization among persons with depression. In particular, they decompose how different types of drug therapy affect hospitalization and how that effect varies with the usage pattern of the drug. Using retrospective medical and pharmacy claims from a Midwestern health maintenance organization, they employed multiple logistic regression analyses of patients newly treated for depression.