Prevalence of Cryptococcaemia in HIV Infected Patients with CD4 Counts of ≤100 Cells/mm3-A Cross Sectional Study in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

study aimed to investigate the of in patients of 51-100. Also, 55 patients (55%) received antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 45 (45%) cases were ART naï�ve. About 56% of patients had no opportunistic infections, and 37% had pulmonary tuberculosis. Three samples were positive in LFA, showing a prevalence of 3%, while only one of the culture samples was positive for Cryptococcus species. However, low CD4 count was found to be strongly correlated with positive serum cryptococcal antigenemia. Conclusion: The present study reveals that cryptococcal antigenemia is a health problem, and that cryptococcal antigen screening and treatment policy recommended by WHO should be performed routinely for HIV patients registered in ART centres in the current setting, especially for those who are ART naï�ve and have CD4 counts of ≤100 cells/mm