Table 1.
Baseline Demographics by Baseline Cerebrospinal Fluid Opening Pressure
| Characteristic | No. | OP <200 mm H2O | No. | OP 200–350 mm H2O | No. | OP >350 mm H2O | P Valuea |
| No. with baseline LP | 163 | 197 | 173 | ||||
| Demographics | |||||||
| Age, y, median (IQR) | 163 | 35 (30–42) | 197 | 35 (30–40) | 173 | 34 (29–40) | .06 |
| Female sex | 163 | 72 (44.2) | 197 | 64 (32.5) | 173 | 68 (39.3) | .07 |
| Weight, kg, median (IQR) | 142 | 52 (46–58) | 166 | 53.5 (48–60) | 127 | 53 (50–60) | .12 |
| ART | |||||||
| Currently on ART | 163 | 81 (49.7) | 197 | 101 (51.3) | 172 | 69 (40.1) | .08 |
| Months on ARTb, median (IQR) | 80 | 4.2 (0.9–18.2) | 101 | 6.6 (1.1–37.7) | 68 | 3.3 (0.5–26.2) | .26 |
| Clinical symptoms | |||||||
| GCS score <15 | 163 | 66 (40.5) | 197 | 71 (36.0) | 173 | 93 (53.8) | <.01 |
| Focal neurologic deficit | 163 | 4 (2.5) | 197 | 5 (2.5) | 173 | 15 (8.7) | .03 |
| Seizures | 163 | 16 (9.8) | 197 | 25 (12.7) | 173 | 37 (21.4) | <.01 |
| Fever | 163 | 87 (53.4) | 197 | 97 (49.2) | 173 | 99 (57.2) | .31 |
| Headache | 163 | 158 (96.9) | 197 | 194 (98.5) | 173 | 171 (98.8) | .39 |
| Vision changes | 163 | 50 (30.7) | 197 | 50 (25.4) | 173 | 75 (43.4) | <.001 |
| Photophobia | 163 | 39 (23.9) | 197 | 51 (25.9) | 173 | 59 (34.1) | .08 |
| Confusion | 163 | 60 (36.8) | 197 | 61 (31.0) | 173 | 73 (42.2) | .08 |
| Vomiting | 163 | 89 (54.6) | 197 | 108 (54.8) | 173 | 115 (66.5) | .04 |
| Laboratory | |||||||
| CD4+ count, cells/µL, median (IQR) | 155 | 17 (7–53) | 191 | 16 (6–49) | 163 | 12 (5–35) | .14 |
| Sodium <130 mEq/L | 118 | 64 (54.2) | 134 | 72 (53.7) | 110 | 67 (60.9) | .47 |
| WBC count ≥3.5 × 103 cells/μL | 151 | 73 (48.3) | 178 | 89 (50.0) | 159 | 98 (61.6) | .03 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL, median (IQR) | 151 | 11.0 (9.0–12.3) | 178 | 11.5 (10.0–13.1) | 159 | 12.5 (11.0–13.7) | <.001 |
| ANC, 103 cells/μL, median (IQR) | 151 | 1.9 (1.1–2.9) | 178 | 1.8 (1.3–2.8) | 159 | 2.6 (1.8–4.0) | <.001 |
| CSF | |||||||
| Cryptococcus, log10 CFU/mLc, median (IQR) | 133 | 4.5 (3.0–5.3) | 183 | 4.7 (3.5–5.3) | 170 | 5.2 (4.4–5.8) | <.001 |
| Sterile cryptococcal culture | 162 | 29 (17.9) | 196 | 13 (6.6) | 172 | 2 (1.2) | <.001 |
| WBC count, cells/μL, median (IQR) | 152 | <5 (<5–50) | 194 | <5 (<5–45) | 171 | <5 (<5–45) | .10 |
| WBC count ≥5 cells/μL | 152 | 68 (44.7) | 194 | 64 (33.0) | 171 | 53 (31.0) | .02 |
| Protein, mg/dL, median (IQR) | 134 | 60 (24–129) | 171 | 46 (22–100) | 155 | 47 (20–91) | .25 |
Data are presented as No. (%) unless otherwise indicated.
Abbreviations: ANC, absolute neutrophil count; ART, antiretroviral therapy; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; GCS, Glasgow Coma Scale; H2O, water; IQR, interquartile range; LP, lumbar puncture; OP, opening pressure; WBC, white blood cell.
a
Kruskal-Wallis test for medians; χ2 test for proportions.
b
Among those on ART at cryptococcal meningitis diagnosis.
c
Excludes CSF sterile cultures at baseline in performing quantitative CSF cultures.