Polymerase chain reaction negative cryptococcal meningitis

Kyle T O'Meara; June L Chan; Stacey Ceron; John C Lam

doi:10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2024.116251

Polymerase chain reaction negative cryptococcal meningitis

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2024 Jun;109(2):116251. doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2024.116251. Epub 2024 Mar 8.

Authors

Kyle T O'Meara¹, June L Chan², Stacey Ceron², John C Lam³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pulmonary & Critical Care, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
² Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
³ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States. Electronic address: johlam@alumni.ucalgary.ca.

PMID: 38492489
DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2024.116251

Abstract

A 61-year-old male with subacute headache was found to have cryptococcal meningitis despite a negative BioFire FilmArray meningitis/encephalitis panel. This case underscores the importance of liberal cryptococcal antigen testing, and that a negative FilmArray panel is inadequate in excluding cryptococcal meningitis, particularly in a HIV-negative host.

Keywords: Cryptococcal antigen; Cryptococcal meningitis; Cryptococcus neoformans; Meningitis; Molecular diagnostics; Polymerase chain reaction.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Cryptococcus neoformans / genetics
Cryptococcus neoformans / isolation & purification
Humans
Male
Meningitis, Cryptococcal* / diagnosis
Meningitis, Cryptococcal* / microbiology
Middle Aged
Polymerase Chain Reaction* / methods