{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,27]],"date-time":"2026-05-27T21:36:09Z","timestamp":1779917769503,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,20]],"date-time":"2023-05-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1684540800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cryptococcal meningitis is a serious infection of the central nervous system that is predominant in developing countries, caused by fungi of the genus Cryptococcus, and which affects immunosuppressed patients, especially those with HIV. Here, we aim to diagnose and characterize the clinical\u2013epidemiological profile of cryptococcosis in patients admitted to two tertiary public hospitals in northeastern Brazil. The study is divided into three moments: (1) the isolation of fungus and diagnosis from biological samples collected between 2017 and 2019, (2) a description of the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the patients, and (3) the experimental tests related to an in vitro susceptibility antifungal profile. The species were identified by MALDI-TOF\/MS. Among the 100 patients evaluated, 24 (24.5%) were diagnosed with cryptococcosis based on positive culture. Clinical\u2013epidemiological analysis showed a slightly higher prevalence in men between 30 and 39 years. When comparing the date of HIV diagnosis and the development of cryptococcosis, it was observed that 50% received the diagnosis of infection by cryptococcosis after or equal to a period of 12 months from being diagnosed with HIV; the other 50% received it within the first 30 days of the HIV diagnosis. Neurocryptococcosis was the most prevalent clinical form, and, at the time of hospital admission, the most common clinical signs were high fever (75%), intense headache (62.50%), and neck stiffness (33.33%). The cerebrospinal fluid showed 100% sensitivity and positivity for direct examination by India ink, and fungal culture. The mortality rate in this study was 46% (11\/24), a lower rate than in the other literature. An antifungigram showed that 20 (83.33%) isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B and 15 (62.5%) to fluconazole. Mass spectrometry identified 100% of the isolates as Cryptococcus neoformans. In Brazil, this infection is not mandatory notifiable. Therefore, although there is little information on the subject, it is obsolete and does not express the reality of the facts, mainly in the northeast region, where this information is insufficient. The data obtained in this research contribute to the epidemiological knowledge of this mycosis in Brazil and will serve as a basis for future globally comparative epidemiological studies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v15051206","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,22]],"date-time":"2023-05-22T01:31:46Z","timestamp":1684719106000},"page":"1206","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Neurocryptococcosis Associated with HIV in Northeastern Brazil"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9595-205X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ert\u00eania Paiva","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Fungal Biology, Federal University Federal of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50740-570, Pernambuco, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bruna Rodrigues","family":"de Sousa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Fungal Biology, Federal University Federal of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50740-570, Pernambuco, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jucieli Firmino","family":"de Freitas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Fungal Biology, Federal University Federal of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50740-570, Pernambuco, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rejane Pereira","family":"Neves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Fungal Biology, Federal University Federal of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50740-570, Pernambuco, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Moacir Batista","family":"Juc\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hospital Correia Pican\u00e7o, Department of Health from the State of Pernambuco, Recife 52060-060, Pernambuco, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paulo S\u00e9rgio Ramos","family":"de Ara\u00fajo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hospital das Cl\u00ednicas, UFPE, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil"},{"name":"Department of Tropical Medicine, Center for Medical Sciences, UFPE, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jailton Lobo","family":"da Costa Lima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Tropical Medicine, Center for Medical Sciences, UFPE, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria Am\u00e9lia Vieira","family":"Maciel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Tropical Medicine, Center for Medical Sciences, UFPE, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8846-877X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Reginaldo Gon\u00e7alves","family":"de Lima-Neto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Postgraduate Program in Fungal Biology, Federal University Federal of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50740-570, Pernambuco, Brazil"},{"name":"Hospital das Cl\u00ednicas, UFPE, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil"},{"name":"Department of Tropical Medicine, Center for Medical Sciences, UFPE, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Patel, V., Desjardins, M., and Cowan, J. 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