Prognostic Factors for Cryptococcosis

In an observational study, poor prognosis was associated with neurologic symptoms or abnormal brain images at baseline and with underlying hematologic malignancy.

Cryptococcosis is usually an opportunistic infection in immunocompromised hosts. The causative agent, Cryptococcus neoformans, enters the body through the lungs. Infection ranges from asymptomatic colonization of the airways to meningitis or disseminated disease. In a prospective study involving 77 centers in France, researchers investigated prognostic parameters in patients with cryptococcosis.

From 1997 through 2001, 230 patients were enrolled (57% of the cases reported in France during this period). Of these, 177 patients were HIV-positive (mean CD4 count, 45 cells/mm³). Nine HIV-negative patients had no obvious risk factors; the others were solid-organ recipients (11) or had malignancies (21) or other underlying conditions (12). Compared…

Reviewing Author

Thomas Glück, MD