Cryoptococcal meningitis

January 2007     View PDF     En español

Other complications

One of the most dangerous complications in severe cases of cryptococcal meningitis is extreme swelling in the skull and the pressure this places on the brain. Therefore, it is recommended that your physician closely monitor the pressure on your brain (called intracranial pressure) beginning with the first lumbar puncture used to diagnose cryptococcal infection. Some physicians recommend draining CSF through lumbar punctures if intracranial pressure is exceptionally high (greater than 25 cm H20), though this procedure has not been studied well enough to prove a better treatment outcome.