A 50-year-old male with AIDS develops a fever, headache and stiff neck. A sample of his cerebrospinal fluid reveals the presence of lymphocytes, glucose levels of 35 mg/dL and protein levels of 75 mg/

The correct answer is B. latex particle agglutination test. This patient with AIDS most likely has meningitis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans, which is a heavily encapsulated yeast found in pigeon droppings and acquired through inhalation. The fungi can be highlighted with India ink and mucicarmine but latex particle agglutination testi

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Question

A 50-year-old male with AIDS develops a fever, headache and stiff neck. A sample of his cerebrospinal fluid reveals the presence of lymphocytes, glucose levels of 35 mg/dL and protein levels of 75 mg/dL. The test which would most likely confirm this patient's diagnosis is the:

Options

AIndia ink test
Blatex particle agglutination test
Cmolecular probe test
Dpolymerase chain reaction test
ETzanck smear

How the community answered

(47 responses)

A
13% (6)
B
77% (36)
C
6% (3)
D
2% (1)
E
2% (1)

Explanation

This patient with AIDS most likely has meningitis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans, which is a heavily encapsulated yeast found in pigeon droppings and acquired through inhalation. The fungi can be highlighted with India ink and mucicarmine but latex particle agglutination testing is more specific. It detects the polysaccharide capsular antigens shed into the CSF. Cryptococcal meningitis is an opportunistic infection and treatment is with amphotericin B and flucytosine followed by fluconazole.

Topics

#cryptococcal meningitis#AIDS opportunistic infections#latex agglutination#CSF analysis

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