Ancona-Castro C, Barrón-Hernández YL, Arenas R, Ortiz-Olmedo A

Language: Spanish
References: 11
Page: 199-203
PDF size: 166.41 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Background: cryptococcosis is a severe opportunistic infection caused by Cryptococcus species complex, with one million cases and 625 000 deaths per year worldwide among patients with HIV/AIDS. Determines high morbidity and mortality, mainly to systemic and meningeal involvement in immunocompromised patients.
Materials and methods: we report demographic, clinical, laboratory and image characteristics obtained by analysis of clinical files in a case series of neuro-cryptococcosis diagnosed by cerebrospinal fluid culture between 2012 and 2014 at a general hospital.
Results: seven cases of meningeal cryptococcosis were found, six of the patients were men, all had risk factors for immunosuppression, in six of them AIDS and one diabetes mellitus. The predominant clinical manifestations were altered mental status, headache and fever. In imaging studies nonspecific abnormalities were detected in six cases.
Conclusions: cryptococcosis of the central nervous system is a frequent opportunistic infection in immunosuppressed patients, so it is important to know the clinical features of this infection in our population.

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