Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the patients.

Variable	All patients (n = 90)
Age (years)	32 (28–38)
Sex (% male)	44% (40)
Abnormal mental status (%)	37% (33)
Baseline CD4 cell count (x 106/ml)	27 (14–51)
HIV viral load (copies/ml)	120,000 (28,000–300,000)
CSF lymphocyte count (x 106/L)	14 (0–72)
CSF protein (g/dL)	0.97 (0.55–1.54)
India ink +ve (%)	92% (83)
Baseline fungal burden (CFU/ml CSF)	240,000 (36,500–745,000)
2 week mortality (%)*	16% (14)
IRIS (%)* †	14% (9)

Results are median inter-quartile range (IQR) unless indicated. CFU, colony forming unit; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; IRIS, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome.

*All patients were treated with Amphotericin B 1 mg/kg plus flucytosine 100 mg/kg per day for 14 days (“standard treatment”). 31 patients received standard treatment alone (“controls”). 29 patients received standard treatment plus IFNγ 2 doses (100 μg days 1 and 3). 30 patients received standard treatment plus IFNγ 6 doses (IFNγ 100 μg days 1,3,5,8,10, and 12). There were no significant differences in either mortality or frequency of IRIS between treatment groups [3].

^†IRIS is expressed as percentage of patients who initiated antiretroviral therapy (n = 65)