Strategies to reduce mortality and morbidity due to AIDS-related cryptococcal meningitis in Latin America

• Autor(a) principal: Vidal,Jose E.
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: Oliveira,Augusto C. Penalva de, Dauar,Rafi F., Boulware,David R.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-86702013000300008
• topic: Cryptococcal meningitis; Cryptococccosis; Epidemiology; Diagnosis; Treatment; Mortality; Latin America

Latin America is the region with the third most AIDS-related cryptococcal meningitis infections globally. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has reduced the number of infections; however, the number of deaths and the case-fatality rate continues to be unacceptable. In this review, we focus on the burden of AIDS-related cryptococcosis in Latin America and discuss potential strategies to reduce early mortality from Cryptococcus. In this review, we highlight the importance of: (1) earlier HIV diagnosis and HAART initiation with retention-in-care to avoid AIDS; (2) pre-HAART cryptococcal antigen (CRAG) screening with preemptive fluconazole treatment; (3) better diagnostics (e.g. CRAG testing); and (4) optimal treatment with aggressive management of intracranial pressure and induction therapy with antifungal combination. Implementation of these strategies can reduce cryptococcal-related deaths, improve care, and reduce healthcare costs.