Profile and acute mortality outcome of patients admitted with cryptococcal meningitis to an urban district hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1: The demographic and clinical profile of patients admitted with cryptococcal meningitis

Characteristics	n (%)
Age (years) mean ± standard deviation	36 ± 9.8
Gender	(n = 127)
Male	65 (51.2)
Female	62 (48.8)
Self-reported HIV status on admission	(n = 127)
Positive	96 (75.6)
Negative	1 (0.8)
Unknown HIV status	30 (23.6)
ART status of HIV-positive patients on admission	(n = 96)
On ART	43 (44.8)
Not on ART	47 (49.0)
Defaulted on ART	6 (6.3)
Known CD4 count (cells/mm^3) (n = 74)
CD4 < 100	54 (73.0)
CD4 100–200	13 (17.6)
CD4 > 200	7 (9.5)
CD4 count (cells/mm^3) median (IQR)	45 (21–115)
Duration of ART before cryptococcal meningitis diagnosis, if known	(n = 27)*
< 1 month	6 (22.2)
1–3 months	11 (40.7)
> 3 months to 6 months	5 (18.5)
> 6 months to 1 year	2 (7.4)
1–3 years	3 (11.1)
Coexisting opportunistic infection at cryptococcal meningitis diagnosis
Tuberculosis	61 (48.0)***
Oral candidiasis	22 (17.2)***
Oesophageal candidiasis	4 (3.1)***
Kaposi sarcoma	2 (1.6)***
Other**	3 (12.3)***
No opportunistic infection reported	50 (39.4)***

ART: antiretroviral therapy, CD4: cluster of differentiation, HIV: human immunodeficiency virus, IQR: interquartile range

* actual sample was less than 43 owing to the unknown duration of the highly active antiretroviral therapy in 16 patients

** One case each with genital warts, genital ulcer disease and herpes ophthalmicus

*** Total number > 127 and total percentage > 100, owing to the coexistence of multiple opportunistic infections

Table 2: An indication of patients’ cerebrospinal fluid parameters at diagnosis

Cerebrospinal fluid parameters	n (%)	Total
Cerebrospinal WBCs		n = 124***
Cerebrospinal WBCs < 20 cells/ml	71 (57.3)
Cerebrospinal WBCs ≥ 20 cells/ml	53 (42.7)
Cerebrospinal Indian ink stain		n = 125***
Yeasts observed	117 (93.6)
Yeasts not observed*	8 (6.4)
Cerebrospinal microscopy (yeast burden)**		n = 80***
Nil	1 (1.3)
1+ (scanty)	34 (42.5)
2+ (moderate)	28 (35.0)
3+ (numerous)	18 (22.5)
Cerebrospinal chemistry
Glucose (mmol/l) median (IQR)	1.8 (1.1–2.7)
Protein (g/l) median (IQR)	0.78 (0.49–1.43)

IQR: interquartile range, WBCs: white blood cells

* Diagnosis based on the cryptococcal latex antigen test and/or cerebrospinal culture of Cryptococcus neoformans

** Not routinely performed in the laboratory

*** Missing data from the laboratory