Clinical Images: A Rare Case of Cryptococcal Meningoencephalitis in an Immunocompetent Patient

Central nervous system (CNS) cryptococcal infection occurs when the encapsulated yeast Cryptococcus neoformans, normally a harmless airway colonizer, infects the CNS space, resulting in meningitis, encephalitis, or meningoencephalitis. Cryptococcus is rarely the cause of serious infection in immunocompetent individuals. However, patients with immune suppression from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), corticosteroids, organ transplantation, primary immune deficit, or reticuloendothelial malignancy are more susceptible to cryptococcal meningitis