Detection of antigen in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been a significant advance in the diagnosis of cryptococcosis, with a sensitivity and specificity for cryptococcal meningitis exceeding 95%.
The College of American Pathologists (CAP) requires that Cryptococcal antigen detection testing performed on CSF specimens be confirmed by culture (CAP MIC.42005).
We searched MEDLINE and Embase for studies where CrAg detection in serum/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and CSF fungal culture were done on adults living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who had suspected cryptococcal meningitis (CM).
A false-negative cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is one of the potential confounders in the diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis in CSF samples during routine clinical care.