Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of Clinical and Laboratory Findings in Cryptococcal Meningitis

BEFORE the introduction of amphotericin B in 1956 cryptococcal meningitis was almost always fatal, three quarters of the patients dying during the first year of illness.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Occasionally, progression of the disease was interrupted by temporary remissions12; nevertheless, survival for longer than three years was unusual. Since amphotericin B has come into use, however, improvement and recovery have been described in a number of cases.13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 In the present report 40 cases of cryptococcal meningitis seen at the National Institutes of Health will be reviewed, particular attention being given to symptoms and cerebrospinal-fluid and cultural findings before treatment and the relation . . .