Prevalencia de tipos de Criptococosis como infección oportunista en pacientes con VIH/SIDA en el hospital Teodoro Maldonado Carbo en el periodo 2012-2023.

Abstract

Cryptococcosis is a fungal infection caused by the fungus of the genus Cryptococcus, the most common being neoformans and Gattii. This Cryptococcus infection generally occurs more frequently in patients with HIV/AIDS. This mycosis can affect various parts of the body, giving different types of symptoms, the most common symptoms being the neurological part such as fever, headache, stiff neck, alterations in consciousness, among others. In turn, others may present with respiratory symptoms resulting in pulmonary cryptococcosis. The diagnosis of this opportunistic mycosis involves the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid, culture, lung biopsy, among others to rule out the presence of Cryptococcosis. The treatment and its duration will depend on the severity and location of the infection. Materials and Methods: This study has a descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional and retrospective design in patients who were treated in the different areas of the Teodoro Maldonado Carbo Hospital during the period 2012-2023. Results: 70 patients with a diagnosis of cryptococcosis in patients with HIV/AIDS were studied. The analysis studied: the type of cryptococcosis, which was reflected with a frequency of 84.3% of cerebral predominance; In turn, the highest age prevalence was between the range of 31-50 years of age represented with 64.3%. However, a higher frequency was evident in the male population with 81.4% and a lower frequency of around 18.6% corresponded to the female population. The origin of these patients was also analyzed, where it was evident that the highest frequency was from rural areas with 57.1%. Other variables were addressed in our study. Conclusions: Cryptococcosis is reflected as a systemic mycosis that is present in vulnerable patients with HIV/AIDS, the most frequent in our study being cerebral cryptococcosis; The most frequent age was between 31-50 years of age; and prevalence in the male population. With respect to origin, there was a greater predominance of rural areas. And the clinical characteristics that debuted in these patients were: headache, elevated temperature, alterations in consciousness and, less frequently, vomiting and neck stiffness. It was important to analyze the CD4 and viral load in our study where a significant decrease in their CD4 count was obtained, and their viral load was found to be increased in these patients with HIV/AIDS. Also, a significant mortality was shown in these patients. Finally, a statistical association was found between types of cryptococcosis and age of the patients. No statistical association was found between types of cryptococcosis and mortality.