Epidemiology and Mortality of Cryptococcal Disease in Guatemala: Two-Year Results of a Cryptococcal Antigen Screening Program.

ABSTRACT: Cryptococcal disease is an important opportunistic infection among people living with HIV. The cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) can be detected before the clinical onset of meningitis and its screening is recommended. Here, we evaluated CrAg frequency, and describe the epidemiological characteristics and mortality at 180 days in a cohort of HIV patients from Guatemala. A total of 3457 patients were screened with a CrAg lateral flow assay in serum between January 2017 and December 2018. CrAg positivity was 11.5% in patients with ≤100 CD4/mm³, 8.7% in patients with <200 CD4/mm³, and 6.3% in patients with <350 CD4/mm³. In Latin America, we estimated 9.2% CrAg positivity (IC95% 7.9-10.7%) in patients with ≤100 CD4/mm³. Among patients newly diagnosed

SUBMITTER: Medina N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9323764 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature