Cryptococcus neoformans Meningoencephalitis in an Immunocompetent Patient after COVID-19 Infection

Hebah Ghanem; Geetha Sivasubramanian

doi:10.1155/2021/5597473

Cryptococcus neoformans Meningoencephalitis in an Immunocompetent Patient after COVID-19 Infection

Case Rep Infect Dis. 2021 Jun 4:2021:5597473. doi: 10.1155/2021/5597473. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Hebah Ghanem¹, Geetha Sivasubramanian¹

Affiliation

¹ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, Fresno, California, USA.

Abstract

Cryptococcus neoformans is a saprophytic fungus that causes fatal disseminated infections in immunocompromised hosts. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple cases of secondary viral, bacterial, and fungal infections have been reported in patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection. We describe here a case of severe cryptococcal meningitis that developed in a previously healthy patient one week after treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection with dexamethasone. This case adds to the growing knowledge of emerging secondary infectious complications including opportunistic pathogens after SARS-CoV-2 infection. While few reports allude to depressed T-cell function and lymphopenia due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, further studies are needed to evaluate the effects of this infection and its treatment on the immune system and its contribution to the emergence of secondary opportunistic infections.

Publication types

Case Reports