TY - JOUR
T1 - Cryptococcus Species Other Than Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii
T2 - Are They Clinically Significant?
AU - Cano, Edison J.
AU - Yetmar, Zachary A.
AU - Razonable, Raymund R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.
PY - 2020/12/1
Y1 - 2020/12/1
N2 - Background: Cryptococcus spp is a major cause of opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients, primarily due to Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. There are occasional reports of other Cryptococcus species causing invasive human disease. However, their epidemiology and clinical significance are not fully defined. We sought to describe cases with cultures positive for Cryptococcus species other than C neoformans and C gattii. Methods: A retrospective descriptive analysis of clinical and laboratory data of patients with cultures growing Cryptococcus species other than C neoformans and C gattii from November 2011 to February 2019 was performed. Three Mayo Clinic sites in Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota were included. Results: From 176 cases with a culture growing Cryptococcus spp, 54 patients (30%) had a culture for Cryptococcus other than C neoformans and C gattii in the study time frame. The most common species were Cryptococcus magnus, Cryptococcus laurentii, and Cryptococcus ater. The organisms were isolated and identified in culture of bronchoalveolar lavage (11), skin (11), urine (7), oral (4), sinus (3), intraoperative soft tissue (3), sputum (2), synovial fluid (2), cerebrospinal fluid (2), and intravenous catheter (2), among others (7). Only 8 (15%) cases were considered to be potentially pathogenic, with 1 case of invasive disease. Antifungal treatment was fluconazole, itraconazole, and griseofulvin, for a mean systemic antifungal duration of 42 days. Conclusions: This large series of patients with Cryptococcus spp other than C neoformans and C gattii suggests that these species rarely cause clinically significant infection in humans. Only 1 case of invasive disease was found.
AB - Background: Cryptococcus spp is a major cause of opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients, primarily due to Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. There are occasional reports of other Cryptococcus species causing invasive human disease. However, their epidemiology and clinical significance are not fully defined. We sought to describe cases with cultures positive for Cryptococcus species other than C neoformans and C gattii. Methods: A retrospective descriptive analysis of clinical and laboratory data of patients with cultures growing Cryptococcus species other than C neoformans and C gattii from November 2011 to February 2019 was performed. Three Mayo Clinic sites in Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota were included. Results: From 176 cases with a culture growing Cryptococcus spp, 54 patients (30%) had a culture for Cryptococcus other than C neoformans and C gattii in the study time frame. The most common species were Cryptococcus magnus, Cryptococcus laurentii, and Cryptococcus ater. The organisms were isolated and identified in culture of bronchoalveolar lavage (11), skin (11), urine (7), oral (4), sinus (3), intraoperative soft tissue (3), sputum (2), synovial fluid (2), cerebrospinal fluid (2), and intravenous catheter (2), among others (7). Only 8 (15%) cases were considered to be potentially pathogenic, with 1 case of invasive disease. Antifungal treatment was fluconazole, itraconazole, and griseofulvin, for a mean systemic antifungal duration of 42 days. Conclusions: This large series of patients with Cryptococcus spp other than C neoformans and C gattii suggests that these species rarely cause clinically significant infection in humans. Only 1 case of invasive disease was found.
KW - Cryptococcus
KW - fungal infection
KW - immunocompromised host
KW - mycology
KW - non-neoformans/gattii
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U2 - 10.1093/ofid/ofaa527
DO - 10.1093/ofid/ofaa527
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85100167276
SN - 2328-8957
VL - 7
JO - Open Forum Infectious Diseases
JF - Open Forum Infectious Diseases
IS - 12
M1 - ofaa527
ER -