100 Questions & Answers About HIV and AIDS by Paul E. Sax

Author:Paul E. Sax [Sax, Paul E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Medical, Physician & Patient
ISBN: 9781284200737
Google: dUXcDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning
Published: 2020-03-25T00:01:12.260522+00:00

Meningitis

An infection or inflammation of the spinal fluid and the lining of the spinal cord.

A simple blood test, the serum cryptococcal antigen (CRAG), is almost always positive in people with cryptococcal meningitis. If it’s positive, you need an immediate spinal tap (or lumbar puncture) to confirm the diagnosis and to help determine the severity. Treatment usually involves at least 2 weeks of amphotericin B given by vein, often with flucytosine (5-FC), followed by a long course of fluconazole, given by mouth. In severe cases, frequent spinal taps may be needed to lower the spinal fluid pressure during the first few days of therapy. When people die of crypto, it’s either because they waited too long to get treated or because they had high spinal fluid pressure that wasn’t treated aggressively enough.

Cryptococcal antigen

A lab test performed on either blood or spinal fluid used to diagnose cryptococcal meningitis.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.