Cryptococcosis - Diagnosis

Diagnosis

Dependent on the infectious syndrome, symptoms include fever, fatigue, chest pain, dry cough, swelling of abdomen, headache, blurred vision and confusion.

Detection of cryptococcal antigen (capsular material) by culture of CSF, sputum and urine provides definitive diagnosis. Blood cultures may be positive in heavy infections. India ink of the CSF is a traditional microscopic method of diagnosis, although the sensitivity is poor in early infection, and may miss up to >=20% of patients with culture-positive cryptococcal meningitis.

Cryptococcosis can rarely occur in the immunocompetent person without HIV, when it usually goes undiagnosed. Less than 250 cases in all are reported in the medical literature, the majority diagnosed postmortem.