Condition Lookup

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Sub-Category:

Cryptococcosis

Symptoms:
fever; headache; nausea; vomiting; altered mental status; neck stiffness in meningitis; cough; chest pain

Root Cause:
Infection by Cryptococcus neoformans or Cryptococcus gattii, typically through inhalation of spores, often affecting immunocompromised individuals.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
India ink staining, cryptococcal antigen testing, fungal cultures, or molecular diagnostics.

Treatment:
Induction therapy with amphotericin B and flucytosine, followed by maintenance therapy with fluconazole.

Medications:
Amphotericin B (polyenes), flucytosine (antifungal antimetabolite), and fluconazole (azole antifungal). These target fungal membranes or DNA synthesis.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patients, with significant global burden in low-resource settings.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
HIV/AIDS, organ transplantation, corticosteroid use, and other immunosuppressive conditions.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Early treatment significantly improves outcomes, though CNS involvement can lead to high mortality (up to 70% in severe untreated cases).

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Cryptococcal meningitis, hydrocephalus, vision loss, and neurological deficits.

Cutaneous Cryptococcus

Specialty: Infectious Diseases

Category: Fungal Infections

Sub-category: Opportunistic Mycoses

Symptoms:
skin lesions ranging from papules to ulcers; nodules; plaques; secondary bacterial infections

Root Cause:
Localized or disseminated infection with Cryptococcus neoformans or Cryptococcus gattii involving the skin, often in immunocompromised patients.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Skin biopsy, fungal cultures, or antigen testing.

Treatment:
Antifungal therapy (similar to systemic cryptococcosis); surgical excision in some localized cases.

Medications:
Amphotericin B, flucytosine , and fluconazole as per systemic cryptococcosis guidelines.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Less common than systemic cryptococcosis; often associated with disseminated disease in immunosuppressed individuals.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Immunosuppression, HIV/AIDS, and direct fungal exposure in endemic areas.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Favorable for isolated cutaneous lesions; prognosis depends on systemic involvement and immune status.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Progression to systemic infection, particularly in untreated or immunocompromised patients.