scholarly journals Relationship of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Viral Load in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Plasma in Patients Co-infected With Cryptococcal Meningitis

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina C. Chang ◽  
Richard Kangethe ◽  
Saleha Omarjee ◽  
Keshni Hiramen ◽  
Bernadett Gosnell ◽  
...  

Abstract We measured human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) ribonucleic acid (RNA) in paired cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma samples in a prospective study of 91 HIV-infected, antiretroviral therapy-naive patients with cryptococcal meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid HIV RNA was lower than in plasma (median 4.7 vs 5.2 log10 copies/mL, P < .0001) and positively correlated with plasma HIV RNA, peripheral CD4+ T-cell percentage, and CSF CXCL10. Plasma/CSF ratio of HIV RNA ranged widely from 0.2 to 265.5 with a median of 2.6. Cerebrospinal fluid quantitative cryptococcal culture positively correlated with CSF CCL2 and CCL3. CSF-plasma viral discordance was not associated with cryptococcal-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome.

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa A. Rolfes ◽  
Joshua Rhein ◽  
Charlotte Schutz ◽  
Kabanda Taseera ◽  
Henry W. Nabeta ◽  
...  

Abstract Background.  Amphotericin-based combination antifungal therapy reduces mortality from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated cryptococcal meningitis. However, 40%–50% of individuals have positive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fungal cultures at completion of 2 weeks of amphotericin induction therapy. Residual CSF culture positivity has historically been associated with poor clinical outcomes. We investigated whether persistent CSF fungemia was associated with detrimental clinical outcomes in a contemporary African cohort. Methods.  Human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals with cryptococcal meningitis in Uganda and South Africa received amphotericin (0.7–1.0 mg/kg per day) plus fluconazole (800 mg/day) for 2 weeks, followed by “enhanced consolidation” therapy with fluconazole 800 mg/day for at least 3 weeks or until cultures were sterile, and then 400 mg/day for 8 weeks. Participants were randomized to receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) either 1–2 or 5 weeks after diagnosis and observed for 6 months. Survivors were classified as having sterile or nonsterile CSF based on 2-week CSF cultures. Mortality, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), and culture-positive relapse were compared in those with sterile or nonsterile CSF using Cox regression. Results.  Of 132 participants surviving 2 weeks, 57% had sterile CSF at 2 weeks, 23 died within 5 weeks, and 40 died within 6 months. Culture positivity was not significantly associated with mortality (adjusted 6-month hazard ratio, 1.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.6–2.3; P = .28). Incidence of IRIS or relapse was also not significantly related to culture positivity. Conclusions.  Among patients, all treated with enhanced consolidation antifungal therapy and ART, residual cryptococcal culture positivity was not found to be associated with poor clinical outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ran Tao ◽  
Lijun Xu ◽  
Yongzheng Guo ◽  
Xiaoke Xu ◽  
Jiesheng Zheng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The long-term complications of ventriculoperitoneal shunting in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated cryptococcal meningitis remain unclear. We conducted a case-control study investigating the long-term effects of ventriculoperitoneal shunting in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated cryptococcal meningitis. Methods: Between January 2011 and December 2019, 112 patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated cryptococcal meningitis from our hospital were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. Of those, 30 (26.8%) patients underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS group); the remaining (n = 82; 73.2%) were included in the non-VPS group. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with ventriculoperitoneal shunting. Results: The VPS group (n=21) had lower cerebrospinal fluid glucose (2.51±0.81 vs. 3.16±0.48 mmol/L; P=0.002) and higher cerebrospinal fluid protein levels (1.37 [0.83–1.49] vs. 0.49 [0.49–0.49] g/L; P=0.011) than did the non-VPS group (n=21). Intracranial pressure decreased from 400 (375–450) to 164 (145–172) mmH2O in the VPS group (log-rank, P<0.001). The 24-week cumulative survival rates in the VPS and non-VPS groups were 100.0% and 79.8%, respectively (P=0.035). The misdiagnosis rates of tuberculous meningitis were 28.6% and 0.0%, respectively (P=0.008). Conclusions: Ventriculoperitoneal shunting decreased the intracranial pressure and 24-week mortality in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated cryptococcal meningitis, but significantly increased cerebrospinal fluid protein levels, leading to a higher misdiagnosis rate of tuberculous meningitis. Physicians should be aware of these changes in the cerebrospinal fluid profiles of patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated cryptococcal meningitis with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt.


2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 384-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Miller ◽  
W. A. Schell ◽  
E. A. Wills ◽  
D. L. Toffaletti ◽  
M. Boyce ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The activity of albaconazole (UR-9825; J. Uriach & Cía. S.A., Barcelona, Spain) was compared to that of fluconazole against 12 isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans in vitro and against 1 isolate in vivo in a rabbit model of cryptococcal meningitis. Albaconazole was 100-fold more potent in vitro than fluconazole on a per-weight basis and was fungicidal at potentially relevant concentrations for two isolates. MICs ranged from ≤0.0012 to 1.25 μg/ml, with the MICs for most isolates being between 0.039 and 0.156 μg/ml. Isolates were from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and non-HIV-infected patients and were of serotypes A, B, and C; and the fluconazole MICs for some of the isolates were elevated. Infected rabbits were treated with either fluconazole or albaconazole at dosages ranging from 5 to 80 mg/kg of body weight/day. The peak concentrations of albaconazole in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) averaged 4.14 and 0.62 μg/ml, respectively, in animals receiving 80 mg/kg/day. Comparison of the concentrations in serum and CSF suggested a level of CSF penetration of approximately 15%. Despite limited penetration into the subarachnoid space, at all three doses tested albaconazole was as effective as fluconazole for the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis in rabbits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-58
Author(s):  
A. A. Milyaev ◽  
V. V. Dantsev ◽  
A. I. Belova ◽  
R. A. Platonova ◽  
B. V. Zaretsky ◽  
...  

The results of a prospective study of 66 patients aged 32,63,8 years infected with the human immunodeficiency virus who were treated in an anti-tuberculosis medical organization for tuberculosis meningoencephalitis are presented. Of these, 49 (74,2%) were newly diagnosed with tuberculosis, and 17 (25,8%) had relapses and chronic forms of tuberculosis. According to social characteristics, patients were distributed as follows: working - 9 (13,6%), non-working - 57 (86,4%), disabled people with tuberculosis - 4 (6,1%), persons who previously served their sentences in prison - 48 (72,7%). All the surveyed patients had bad habits: they continued to actively use psychoactive substances - 52 (78,8%) people, abused alcohol - 43 (65,2%), smoked - 60 (90,1%). In 97% of cases, tuberculosis of the meninges and Central nervous system was a complication of respiratory tuberculosis: tuberculosis of the intra-thoracic lymph nodes - 42,4%, disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis - 27,3%, infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis - 22,7%, and caseous pneumonia- 7,6%. The most effective method for diagnosing the tuberculosis etiology of meningoencephalitis in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus is the study of cerebrospinal fluid using a polymerase chain reaction. Deoxyribonucleic acid of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was detected in 31 (47%) patients. The characteristics of the cerebrospinal fluid in the examined patients are presented as follows: a decrease in glucose in 45 (68,2%) patients, an increase in protein in 59 (89,4%), and cytosis at the upper limit of normal values in 10 (15,6%). High mortality rates (47,7%) in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus in combination with tuberculosis meningoencephalitis are associated with a high degree of immunosuppression.


Author(s):  
Elvis Temfack ◽  
Jean Joel Bigna Rim ◽  
Rene Spijker ◽  
Angela Loyse ◽  
Tom Chiller ◽  
...  

Abstract Cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) detection could direct the timely initiation of antifungal therapy. We searched MEDLINE and Embase for studies where CrAg detection in serum/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and CSF fungal culture were done on adults living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who had suspected cryptococcal meningitis (CM). With Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2), we evaluated the risk of bias in 11 included studies with 3600 participants, and used a random-effects meta-analysis to obtain summary sensitivity and specificity of serum and CSF CrAg, as well as agreement between CSF CrAg and CSF culture. Summary sensitivity and specificity of serum CrAg were 99.7% (97.4–100) and 94.1% (88.3–98.1), respectively, and summary sensitivity and specificity of CSF CrAg were 98.8% (96.2–99.6) and 99.3% (96.7–99.9), respectively. Agreement between CSF CrAg and CSF culture was 98% (97–99). In adults living with HIV who have CM symptoms, serum CrAg negativity may rule out CM, while positivity should prompt induction antifungal therapy if lumbar puncture is not feasible. In a first episode of CM, CSF CrAg positivity is diagnostic.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document