ATTEMPTS FOR AN EARLY DETECTION OF PULMON ARY CRYPTOCOCCOSIS BY SPUTUM CULTURE

Cryptococcosis is a serious opportunistic infection occurring in acqui red immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. As the number of infect ed patients with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Central Afr ica and especially in Rwanda increases, the prevalence of cryptococcos is can also be expected to rise. An earlier diagnosis and treatment wi ll improve the prognosis of cryptococcosis. As it is widely accepted t hat the lungs are the portal of entry for the yeast, 270 sputum sample s coming from 230 patients attending the Centre Hospitalier de Kigali (CHK)-Rwanda for lung diseases, were investigated. Cr. neoformans var neoformans was cultured from 8 samples coming from 5 out of 230 patien ts.A retrospective review showed that 4 out of 5 patients were infecte d with HIV, a predisposing factor for cryptococcosis.