infections occur mostly in immunodeficient individuals, being the most common opportunistic fungal central nervous system (CNS) infection in HIV seropositive patients. Moreover, other conditions affecting host immunity, such as hematologic malignancies, organ transplantation and immunosuppressive drugs are implicated as risk factors. The authors present a case of a 48-year-old male with Hodgkin Lymphoma for 26 years and submitted to several lines of treatment, diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis while on therapy with brentuximab. The patient presented with positive cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) cryptococcal antigen plus positive blood cultures. He was put under induction antifungal treatment with liposomal amphotericin B and flucytosine, as well as corticosteroid therapy with dexamethasone with headache improvement and a favorable clinical evolution. There are no reported cases of cryptococcal meningoencephalitis under CD30-directed monoclonal antibody. Furthermore, this case illustrates the risk of infection in immunocompromising conditions other than HIV, underlining the need of considering this differential diagnosis when physicians face an opportunistic neuroinfection.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.24816.2 | DOI Listing |
NPJ Antimicrob Resist
September 2024
Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Cryptococcal meningitis is a high-mortality infection. Adding 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) to its treatment improves outcomes, but resistance to 5-FC presents a significant challenge. We conducted whole-genome sequencing on seven C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Infect Dev Ctries
December 2024
Department of Neurosurgery, The third affiliated hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Introduction: Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) combined with intracranial hypertension is associated with a poor prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy and prognostic factors of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt in non-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) CM patients with intracranial hypertension.
Methodology: A total of 136 non-HIV CM patients with intracranial hypertension treated in our hospital from July 2010 to December 2019 were retrospectively included.
Egypt J Immunol
January 2025
Department of Microbiology and Infection Prevention and Control Unit, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Giza 12411, Egypt.
Cryptococcal meningitis is an alarming fungal infection that usually affects the meninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The causative organism is Cryptococcus neoformans. Although this infection can occur in normal individuals, it is more often seen in patients with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
December 2024
Hematology Oncology, Miami Cancer Institute, Miami, USA.
Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) often experience infections due to aberrant immunoglobulin production by malignant plasma cells and immunosuppressive therapeutic interventions that are used to treat the condition. A rare but serious infection that may occur in these patients is Cryptococcus, an encapsulated fungus that typically infects immunocompromised individuals. Cryptococcus infections often present as pneumonia but can disseminate to the central nervous system, potentially causing meningitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Indian Acad Neurol
December 2024
Department of Neurology, Gobind Ballabh Pant Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research and Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.
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