Cryptococcal Sepsis Diagnosed by Bone Marrow Examination

Abstract

Disseminated cryptococcal disease is often associated with immunodeficient states. The diagnosis is usually made using standard antigen tests on serum and cerebrospinal fluid in patients with known immunodeficiency. Often, blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures also yield Cryptococcus neoformans. The authors describe a child whose diagnosis remained elusive until a bone marrow aspiration, performed as part of an evaluation for suspected neoplasm, revealed the offending organism.

Disseminated cryptococcosis in an apparently immunocompetent patient presenting with primary intraventricular haemorrhage

“…Bone marrow cryptococcosis is a rare finding and has been reported in AIDS11 and advanced histiocytic lymphoma12 treated with antineoplastic agents. Disseminated cryptococcosis involving the skin, pulmonary and CNS in immunocompetent patients initially diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology has been described by Suchitha et al ,13 and was also described in a recent case of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia treated with chemotherapeutic agents 14.…”