| BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS |
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| Year : 2007 | Volume
: 25
| Issue : 2 | Page : 146-149 |
Prevalence of central nervous system cryptococcosis in human immunodeficiency virus reactive hospitalized patients
V Lakshmi, T Sudha, VD Teja, P Umabala
Department of Microbiology, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad - 500 082, India
Correspondence Address:
V Lakshmi
Department of Microbiology, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad - 500 082
India
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DOI: 10.4103/0255-0857.32723 PMID: 17582187
Central nervous system cryptococcosis is an important cause of mortality among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reactive patients. A retrospective study was conducted on a total of 1,863 HIV reactive hospitalized patients suspected of cryptococcal meningitis. Three hundred and fifty-nine cerebrospinal fluid specimens of these cases were screened for various cryptococcal investigations. Thirty-nine out of 359 (10.86%) showed a definite diagnosis of cryptococcosis with a mortality rate of 25.64%. Prevalence of cryptococcal meningitis in the total HIV reactive cohort was 2.09%. Concurrent cryptococcal meningitis and tuberculosis was seen in 33.3% cases. A high index of clinical suspicion and routine mycological surveillance is required to help an early diagnosis and appropriate therapy, as majority of patients respond well to therapy if treated early.
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