Utility of handheld non-mydriatic fundoscopy in a case of bilateral, reversible vision loss in an advanced HIV patient with cryptococcal meningitis in Sub-Saharan Africa

Kristoffer E Leon; Timothy Mugabi; Tu Tran; Hawa Magembe; Caleb P Skipper

doi:10.1016/j.mmcr.2024.100680

Utility of handheld non-mydriatic fundoscopy in a case of bilateral, reversible vision loss in an advanced HIV patient with cryptococcal meningitis in Sub-Saharan Africa

Med Mycol Case Rep. 2024 Oct 26:46:100680. doi: 10.1016/j.mmcr.2024.100680. eCollection 2024 Dec.

Authors

Kristoffer E Leon¹, Timothy Mugabi², Tu Tran³, Hawa Magembe⁴, Caleb P Skipper⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
² Infectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
³ Department of Ophthalmology, University of Minnesota, MN, USA.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
⁵ Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Abstract

Cryptococcal meningitis is a fungal infection that is typically caused by Cryptococcus neoformans and most commonly seen in severely immunosuppressed patient. This disease causes severe neurologic disease due to elevated intracranial pressures. In this case report, we describe a patient with newly diagnosed HIV presenting to the hospital with cryptococcal meningitis complicated by sudden vision loss. We highlight the role of prompt diagnosis and treatment in the reversal of vision loss, with subsequent monitoring using a handheld, non-mydriatic fundus imaging device.

Keywords: Blindness; Cryptococcus; Fundoscopy; HIV; Meningitis.

Publication types

Case Reports