Background: The clinical profiles and outcomes of cryptococcal meningitis have been shown to vary depending on the underlying condition. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with and without type II diabetes mellitus.
Methods: A retrospective study was performed. Clinical data of HIV-negative cryptococcal meningitis patients with type II diabetes mellitus (n = 26) and without type II diabetes mellitus (n = 52) referring to the Jiangxi Chest Hospital between January 2012 to December 2018 were analyzed. The data were analyzed using chi square, none-parametric tests, and logistic regression. P-values < 0.05 were considered significant.
Results: In this study, cryptococcal meningitis patients suffering from type II diabetes mellitus had a higher mortality (23.08% vs. 7.69%; P = 0.055), and required longer hospitalization (59.58 vs. 42.88 days; P = 0.132). Moreover, cerebrospinal fluid examinations revealed that cryptococcal meningitis patients with type II diabetes mellitus had higher opening pressure (271.54 vs. 234.23 mmH2O; P = 0.125).The results of multivariate regression analysis revealed that cryptococcal meningitis patients with type II diabetes were more often presented with visual disorders (28.54% vs. 11.54%; [95% CI 0.056-0.705]; p = 0.012), and had higher cerebrospinal fluid protein levels (1027.62 ± 594.16 vs. 705.72 ± 373.88 mg/l; [95% CI 1.000-1.002]; p = 0.016). Among patients with type II diabetes mellitus, nausea and vomiting was more frequent at the initial visit in those died (100% vs. 50%; p = 0.027), and 66% of died type II diabetes mellitus patients were poorly controlled blood glucose level, compared with 30% in survival type II diabetes mellitus patients.
Conclusion: This study suggests that cryptococcal meningitis patients with type II diabetes mellitus differ significantly from cryptococcal meningitis patients without type II diabetes mellitus with respect to clinical symptoms such as visual disorders and cerebrospinal fluid examination. The presence of nausea and vomiting among type II diabetes mellitus patients could have implication in mortality.
Keywords: Clinical profile; Cryptococcal meningitis; Prognosis; Type II diabetes mellitus.