cryptococcal meningitis

Last reviewed 01/2018

Cryptococcal meningitis is usually a disease of the immunocompromised. It has become more common with the appeareance of AIDS.

Cryptococcus neoformans is the pathogenic fungus. It is a common organism found in the soil, particularly in bird droppings. The portal of entry is usually the lung.

The predominant clinical process is a variably subacute meningitis with occasional patients showing features of brain abscess or inflammatory cerebral vasculitis.