Authors
Joseph N Jarvis, Thomas S Harrison
Publication date
2008/4
Source
Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine
Volume
29
Issue
02
Pages
141-150
Publisher
© Thieme Medical Publishers
Description
Cryptococcosis is a common opportunistic infection in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients, also occurring in other immunosuppressed patients and occasionally those with no apparent immunocompromise. The majority of cases are caused by the ubiquitous encapsulated yeast, Cryptococcus neoformans, whereas Cryptococcus gattii accounts for a smaller proportion of cases, often in immunocompetent patients. Severe meningoencephalitis is the commonest presentation; however, pulmonary cryptococcosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive individuals is underdiagnosed and without appropriate treatment leads to severe disseminated disease. The natural history of pulmonary cryptococcal infection in other immunosuppressed patients is also of dissemination and progression in the majority of cases, whereas immunocompetent patients may present with more localized, self …
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JN Jarvis, TS Harrison - Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine, 2008