Epidemiology and Mortality of Cryptococcal Disease in Guatemala: Two-Year Results of a Cryptococcal Antigen Screening Program

Abstract

Cryptococcal disease is an important opportunistic infection among people living with HIV. The cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) can be detected before the clinical onset of meningitis and its screening is recommended. Here, we evaluated CrAg frequency, and describe the epidemiological characteristics and mortality at 180 days in a cohort of HIV patients from Guatemala. A total of 3457 patients were screened with a CrAg lateral flow assay in serum between January 2017 and December 2018. CrAg positivity was 11.5% in patients with ≤100 CD4/mm3, 8.7% in patients with 3, and 6.3% in patients with 3. In Latin America, we estimated 9.2% CrAg positivity (IC95% 7.9–10.7%) in patients with ≤100 CD4/mm3. Among patients newly diagnosed with HIV, we estimated 4416 incident cases per year in Latin America in those with 3 and 5289 in those with 3. In addition, we calculated the burden in people not on ARV or without viral suppression and found 28,672 cases. CrAg screening should be considered in patients who have a CD4 cell count 3. Cryptococcal meningitis was associated with 30.8% mortality in Guatemala. Global access to diagnosis as well as to liposomal amphotericin B and flucytosine is a priority.

Keywords

• cryptococcal antigen
• meningitis
• Guatemala
• Latin America
• PLWHIV