Nelson M R, Fisher M, Cartledge J, Rogers T, Gazzard B G
HIV/GUM unit, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, London, UK.
AIDS. 1994 May;8(5):651-4. doi: 10.1097/00002030-199405000-00011.
To assess the role of azole therapy in the treatment and prophylaxis of cryptococcosis in HIV-seropositive individuals.
Retrospective case review.
A dedicated HIV unit in London, UK.
Fifty individuals with a positive cryptococcal antigen or culture from any site between 1 January 1985 and 31 December 1992.
Thirty-eight patients initially presented with meningitis and 12 with alternative disease, five of whom subsequently developed meningeal disease. The 12 patients who presented without meningitis received chronic suppressive therapy after the diagnosis of cryptococcal disease. Two patients receiving itraconazole developed meningitis as did three out of four treated with 200 mg fluconazole daily, but none of the six receiving 400 mg fluconazole daily. Treatment of cryptococcal meningitis was successful in 17 of the 19 patients given fluconazole but only three of the six receiving itraconazole. Following successful treatment of meningitis five out of seven patients given itraconazole and five out of seven given 200 mg fluconazole daily relapsed compared with three out of 25 receiving 400 mg fluconazole daily.
Fluconazole is an effective treatment for cryptococcal meningitis. For prophylaxis following meningitis, a dose of 400 mg fluconazole is the preferred treatment; lower doses are associated with a higher relapse rate.
