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Candida Meningitis In An Immunocompetent Patient Detected Through (1!3)-Beta-D-Glucan, Mark K. Farrugia, Evan P. Fogha, Abdul R. Miah, Joel Yednock, H. Carl Palmer

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

A 44-year-old female presented with a 3-month history of headache, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Her past medical history was significant for long-standing intravenous drug abuse. Shortly after admission, the patient became hypertensive and febrile, with fever as high as 38.8 8C. The lumbar puncture profile supported an infectious process; however multiple cultures of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) did not initially show growth of organisms. Finally after 9 days of incubation, a CSF culture showed evidence of a few colonies of Candida albicans. To confirm the diagnosis, preserved CSF from that sample was tested for (1!3)-b-D-glucan, showing levels >500 pg/ml. …