VCOM Research Day Program Book 2023

Medical Resident Research Case Reports

27 Cryptococcal Meningitis Infection in Immunocompetent Host

Taewhi Choi; William Cox Corresponding author: Taewhi.choi@hcahealthcare.com

LewisGale Hospital Montgomery, Blacksburg

Infectious disease has been and always will be a great challenge healthcare will face. Topics such as growing antibiotic resistance and abilities for different strains of bacteria, virus, and fungus that invade our bodies are becoming problems that medical providers need to prepare, learn, and adapt. This presentation is a clinical case presentation for which describes cryptococcal meningitis in an immunocompetent host. Cryptococcal meningitis which is traditionally known to be an infection of immunocompromised hosts are more frequently being observed in immunocompetent hosts in recent clinical settings. Invasive fungal infections of cryptococcal

species have been mostly associated as infections of the immunocompromised such as AIDS, prolonged treatment with glucocorticoid, organ transplantation, malignancy, liver disease, and sarcoidosis in more traditional clinical settings. This is mainly due to the fungus being very commonly found in soil samples that has been associated with pigeons or chickens and can be found commonly in everyday populations. But with a healthy immune system, the body can fight off the offending pathogen without complications. More recently, the prevalence of cryptococcal related infections has been rising in patient population that are immunocompetent.

Teaching Point of this presentation is to raise awareness and widen differential for the providers to consider cryptococcal related infection as possible etiology of meningitis in immunocompetent patients and not only consider in immunocompromised patients. Also, to further discussion on increasing prevalence as well as possible antibiotic resistance.

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