A CHILD CASE OF HEMOPHAGOCYTIC SYNDROME-ASSOCIATED WITH CRYPTOCOCCAL MENINGOENCEPHALITIS

A previously healthy 12-year-old Japanese girl developed meningoenceph alitis due to Cryptococcus neoformans. During the course of her illnes s she suffered persistent high fever, severe pancytopenia, hypercytoki nemia and liver dysfunction. Laboratory findings, including results of a bone marrow examination, strongly indicated complication by haemoph agocytic syndrome (HPS), The preceding cryptococcal infection was thou ght to be a cause of the HPS because no other viral or bacterial infec tion could be confirmed, The girl died of acute respiratory failure du ring the progressive course of HPS. This may be the first reported cas e of HPS due to cryptococcal infection in an otherwise healthy child.