Cryptococcal meningitis: Clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic overviews

Cryptococcal meningitis has emerged as a leading cause of infectious morbidity and mortality in patients with AIDS. Among the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive subjects, cryptococcal meningitis is the second most common cause of opportunistic neuro-infection. Current trends are changin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurology India 2007-07, Vol.55 (3), p.226-232
Main Authors: Satishchandra, P, Mathew, T, Gadre, G, Nagarathna, S, Chandramukhi, A, Mahadevan, A, Shankar, S.K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AIDS (Disease)
AIDS patients
Antiviral agents
Cancer
Care and treatment
Clinical medicine
Cryptococcal meningitis
Developing countries
Diagnosis
Dosage and administration
Drug therapy
Fever
Health aspects
Highly active antiretroviral therapy
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus
Hydrocephalus - etiology
Industrialized nations
LDCs
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
Medical diagnosis
Meningitis
Meningitis, Cryptococcal - complications
Meningitis, Cryptococcal - diagnosis
Meningitis, Cryptococcal - therapy
Meningitis, Cryptococcal, HIV, immunodeficiency
Mortality
Nervous system
Opportunistic infections
Physiological aspects
Prognosis
Risk factors
Therapy
Transplants & implants
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Summary:Cryptococcal meningitis has emerged as a leading cause of infectious morbidity and mortality in patients with AIDS. Among the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive subjects, cryptococcal meningitis is the second most common cause of opportunistic neuro-infection. Current trends are changing due to the marked improvement of quality and length of life produced by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The introduction of generic HAART in India has resulted in an increase in the number of individuals getting treatment for HIV infection, as the cost of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has decreased 20- fold. Cryptococcal meningitis occurs in non-HIV patients who are immunodeficient due to diabetes, cancer, solid organ transplants, chemotherapeutic drugs, hematological malignancies etc and rarely in healthy individuals with no obvious predisposing factors. Diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis is fairly straightforward once the diagnosis is considered in the differential diagnosis of chronic meningitis. Treatment of a patient with cryptococcal infection is a challenge for both the physician and the patient, but rewarding, as many would recover with timely and adequate antifungal therapy.
ISSN:0028-3886
1998-4022
DOI:10.4103/0028-3886.35683