Watery diarrhea in a patient with myasthenia gravis, thymoma, and immunodeficiency.

An elderly man with thymoma, myasthenia gravis, and hypogammaglobulinemia developed profuse watery diarrhea. Infusions of gamma-globulin caused the diarrhea to resolve. The patient succumbed to fulminant bronchopneumonia. At necropsy he was found to have widespread cytomegalovirus infection with duodenal and ileal ulceration, subtotal villous atrophy, marked nonspecific inflammation of the small intestine and bronchopneumonia. In addition Herpes simplex infection and invasive candidiasis were present. Patients with immunodeficiency are susceptible to a variety of gastrointestinal pathogens, particularly viral.