CRYPTOCOCCOSIS (TORULOSIS) IN CHILDREN

Four cases of disseminated cryptococcosis in children are reported, two of whom had cryptococcosis without involvement of the central nervous system. All but one patient, a child with leukemia, survived. Two of the survivors were treated with amphotericin B intravenously, while one child recovered after long-term sulfadiazine therapy. Cryptococcosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of disease in children with unexplained fever, lymphadenopathay, hepatosplenomegaly, or pulmonary involvement. Central nervous system involvement is not invariably present, and can be prevented if therapy with amphotericin B is instituted early. The necessity of appropriate and repeated fungal cultures is emphasized.