Table 3.
The patterns and methods of pulmonary cryptococcosis diagnosis.
| CrAg Test of Blood, n (%) | N = 321 |
|---|---|
| Not performed | 18 (5.6) |
| Yes | 303 (94.4) |
| Positive * | 250 (82.5) |
| Negative | 53 (17.5) |
| Culture and identification of species, n (%) | N = 321 |
| Not performed | 167 (52.0) |
| Yes | 154 (48.0) |
| Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), total/positive $ | 110/13 |
| Tissue, total/positive | 62/17 |
| Bronchoalveolar lavage, total/positive | 21/13 |
| Sputum, total/positive | 19/4 |
| Blood, total/positive | 13/8 |
| Pleural effusion, total/positive | 2/0 |
| Urine, total/positive | 1/1 |
| Identifiable culture results (n = 47) | |
| Cryptococcus neoformans | 46 (97.9) |
| Cryptococcus gattii | 1 (2.1) |
| Biopsy and pathology, n (%) | N = 321 |
| Not performed | 186 (57.9) |
| Yes | 135 (42.1) |
| Surgical biopsy, total/positive | 64/64 |
| Computed-tomography-guided biopsy, total/positive | 28/24 |
| Bronchoscopy, total/positive # | 23/7 |
| Ultrasound-guided biopsy, total/positive | 20/12 |
| Lumbar puncture, n (%) | N = 321 |
| Not performed | 211 (65.7) |
| Yes | 110 (34.3) |
| CrAg test of CSF negative | 92 (83.6) |
| CrAg test of CSF positive $ | 18 (16.4) |
CrAg, cryptococcal antigen. * Denotes the percentage of positivity among patients with serology tests (median 1:32 (range 1:2 to 1:8192)). # Includes bronchoscopic biopsy, brush, and/or lavage. $ All 18 patients with a positive CSF CrAg test also had positive results in the blood; all 13 patients with positive CSF culture were also positive for the CSF CrAg test.