Cryptococcosis laboratory tests

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Serge Korjian M.D.; Yazan Daaboul, M.D.

Overview

There are no specific laboratory findings associated with cryptococcal infection, but it can be diagnosed through culture, CSF microscopy, or by cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) detection.

There are no specific laboratory findings associated with cryptococcal infection, but it can be diagnosed through:^[1]^[2]^[3]

In patients with HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis, 55% of blood cultures and 95% of CSF cultures are positive and visible colonies can be detected within 7 days.
The opening pressure in the CSF may be elevated, with pressures ≥25 cm H2O in 60% to 80% of patients.

↑ Panel on Opportunistic Infections in HIV-Infected Adults and Adolescents. Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections in HIV-infected adults and adolescents: recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Available at http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/lvguidelines/adult_oi.pdf Accessed on December 31, 2015.
↑ Maziarz EK, Perfect JR (2016). “Cryptococcosis”. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 30 (1): 179–206. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2015.10.006. PMID 26897067.
↑ El Fane M, Badaoui L, Ouladlahsen A, Sodqi M, Marih L, Chakib A; et al. (2015). “[Cryptococcosis during HIV infection]”. J Mycol Med. 25 (4): 257–62. doi:10.1016/j.mycmed.2015.09.008. PMID 26515783.