Concomitant cryptococcal meningitis and meningeal tuberculosis: report of an extremely rare coinfection

Authors

  • Gabriel Sebastián Jaramillo Orellana Universidad Internacional del Ecuador. Estudiante de la Especialidad de Medicina Interna (R4). Cuenca-Ecuador https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6473-7178
  • Jessica Cecilia Robles Pérez Hospital Universitario del Río. Medicina Interna. Ciudad de México-México https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2207-1603
  • Andrea Verónica García Pacheco Universidad Internacional del Ecuador. Postgrado. Docente de la Especialidad de Medicina Interna. Cuenca-Ecuador https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7038-0550
  • Marcos Fernando Molina Matute Hospital del Rio. Infectología. Consulta externa. Cuenca-Ecuador

Keywords:

cryptococcal meningitis, meningeal tuberculosis, coinfection

Abstract

Introduction: meningeal coinfection with tuberculosis and cryptococcosis is extremely rare, having been reported in the literature only in case reports and case series, particularly in Eastern countries, with a fatal outcome in most patients. 

Clinical Case: a 44-year-old male patient with systemic symptoms that had been present for 3 weeks; following a comprehensive evaluation, he was diagnosed with Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and due to neurological symptoms, a lumbar puncture was performed, revealing the presence of:  Cryptococcus neoformans and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. During hospitalization, he developed complications such as anemia, hepatotoxicity, and interstitial tubular necrosis, requiring adjustments to antimycotic and antifungal therapy. After one year of treatment, the patient is in optimal health, with a negative viral load and a CD4 count 174 cel/µL. 

Conclusion: this case report demonstrates that with timely diagnosis and treatment, survival can be achieved in patients with this rare coinfection.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2026-04-30

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 1 (2026): Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de la Universidad de Cuenca

Section

Clinical Case

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Jessica Cecilia Robles Perez, Gabriel Sebastian Jaramillo Orellana, Marcos Fernando Molina Matute, Andrea Verónica García Pacheco

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Copyright © Autors.

You are free to:

Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

Under the following conditions:

Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the licence, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licenser endorses you or your use.
  NonCommercial  — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
  ShareAlike  — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
  No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the licence permits.