Clinical characteristics and aetiological analysis of combined central and pulmonary cryptococcal infection: Clinical cases.

Abstract

This paper presents a summary of seven cases of combined pulmonary and central cryptococcal infection and analyses of their clinical features, treatment and prognosis. No clear correlation was identified between the intracranial cryptococcal capsular antigen titre and either the intracranial pressure or the amount of protein in the cerebrospinal fluid. Pulmonary lesions may develop in any of the lung lobes and manifest in multiple forms. Infection at the central level is predominantly meningitis. As the central cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) capsular antigen titre can be considerably elevated even when serum capsular antigen titres are markedly low, lumbar puncture and subsequent analysis are essential for every case of pulmonary cryptococcal infection. Patients with renal insufficiency or who refused intravenous treatment opted for oral fluconazole therapy, and their prognoses were favourable.