The management and outcome of cryptococcosis in patients with different immune statuses and treatment protocols: A multicenter real-world study in Jiangsu Province - China

Yu Wang; Yu Gu; Kunlu Shen; Xuefan Cui; Rui Min; Siqing Sun; Chunlai Feng; Yanbin Chen; Li Wang; Guoer Ma; Bilin Chen; Yueyan Ni; Huanhuan Zhong; Yi Shi; Xin Su

doi:10.1016/j.mycmed.2023.101389

The management and outcome of cryptococcosis in patients with different immune statuses and treatment protocols: A multicenter real-world study in Jiangsu Province - China

J Mycol Med. 2023 Aug;33(3):101389. doi: 10.1016/j.mycmed.2023.101389. Epub 2023 Apr 21.

Authors

Yu Wang¹, Yu Gu², Kunlu Shen³, Xuefan Cui⁴, Rui Min⁴, Siqing Sun⁵, Chunlai Feng⁶, Yanbin Chen⁷, Li Wang⁸, Guoer Ma⁹, Bilin Chen², Yueyan Ni¹, Huanhuan Zhong², Yi Shi², Xin Su¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China, 210008.
² Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China, 210008.
³ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China, 510000.
⁴ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China, 210002.
⁵ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing, China, 210002.
⁶ Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, China, 213000.
⁷ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China, 215000.
⁸ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China, 210002.
⁹ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China, 212000.
¹⁰ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China, 210008; Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China, 210008; Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China, 510000. Electronic address: suxinjs@163.com.

PMID: 37099991
DOI: 10.1016/j.mycmed.2023.101389

Abstract

Objective: The incidence of cryptococcosis is increasing in non-immunocompromised patients. However, the evidence on proper management is inadequate in this population. We conducted this multi-center real-world study in pulmonary cryptococcosis patients with different immune statuses, so as to provide practical evidence for optimized clinical management of cryptococcosis, especially for mild-to-moderate immunodeficient diseases patients.

Methods: This is a prospective observational study. The clinical data of patients with proven cryptococcosis were collected and analyzed from 7 tertiary teaching hospitals in Jiangsu Province, China from January, 2013 to December, 2018. Proven cases include pulmonary cryptococcosis, cryptococcal meningitis, cryptococcemia and cutaneous cryptococcosis. Patients were followed up over 24 months. According to their immune status, patients with cryptococcosis were divided into three groups, namely immunocompetent group (IC), mild-to-moderate immunodeficient diseases group (MID), severe immunodeficient diseases group (SID). Meanwhile, pulmonary crypotococcosis (PC) and extrapulmonary crypotococcosis (EPC) were also classified and analyzed.

Results: 255 proven cases of cryptococcosis were enrolled. Finally, 220 cases completed the follow-up. 143 proven cases (65.0%) were immunocompetent (IC), 41 cases (18.6%) were MID, and 36 cases (16.4%) were SID. 174 cases (79.1%) were PC and 46 cases (20.9%) were EPC. The mortality was significantly higher in SID and MID patients [47.2% (SID) vs. 12.2% (MID) vs. 0.0% (IC), p<0.001]. The mortality was also significantly higher in EPC patients [45.7% vs. 0.6% (PC), p<0.001]. Patients with alternative initial antifungal treatment had higher mortality than patients with guideline recommended initial treatment [23.1% vs. 9.5%, p=0.041]. In MID group, the mortality of receiving alternative initial antifungal treatment was significantly higher than recommended initial treatment [2/3 vs. 3/34(8.8%), p=0.043]. In pulmonary cryptococcosis patients with MID, the mortality was very similar to IC group [0.0% vs. 0.0% (IC)], lower than SID group [0.0% vs. 11.1% (SID), p=0.555]. However, in extrapulmonary cryptococcosis patients with MID, the mortality was significantly higher than that in IC [62.5% vs. 0.0% (IC)], and similar to SID patients [62.5% vs. 59.3% (SID)].

Conclusion: The immune status exert a significant influence on the management and prognosis of cryptococcosis patients. The mortality of cryptococcosis patients with MID is higher than that of immunocompetent patients. For MID patients with pure pulmonary cryptococcosis, it is acceptable to take the treatment recommended as IC patients. For the MID patients with extrapulmonary cryptococcosis, the mortality is high and the initial treatment should follow the regimen for SID patients. Following the recommended treatment regimen in the IDSA guideline can reduce mortality in patients with cryptococcosis. Starting on alternative initial antifungal treatment may bring worse outcomes.

Keywords: Cryptococcosis; Mild-to-moderate; Outcome; Prognosis.

Publication types

Multicenter Study
Observational Study

MeSH terms

Antifungal Agents* / therapeutic use
China / epidemiology
Clinical Protocols
Cryptococcosis* / drug therapy
Cryptococcosis* / epidemiology
Humans
Retrospective Studies

Substances

Antifungal Agents