False-negative cerebral spinal fluid cryptococcal antigen lateral flow assay due to postzone phenomenon in a patient with disseminated cryptococcal disease: a case report

This report presents the case of false-negative cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) lateral flow assay (LFA) in a HIV-positive 25-year-old male. The patient presented with headache, nausea and vomiting for 5 days and syncope for 1 day. An initial CSF CrAg LFA test was negative, b...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lu Xu, Yi-Jun Mo, Xing-Bei Weng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2023-03-01
Series:Journal of International Medical Research
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/03000605231156767
Description
Summary:This report presents the case of false-negative cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) lateral flow assay (LFA) in a HIV-positive 25-year-old male. The patient presented with headache, nausea and vomiting for 5 days and syncope for 1 day. An initial CSF CrAg LFA test was negative, but a 1:4 dilution of the CSF was weakly positive and a 1:8 dilution was positive. A serum cryptococcal antigen test was weakly positive. Cultures of blood and CSF were all positive for Cryptococcus neoformans. The explanation for the false-negative CSF CrAg LFA test is that the antigen concentration was too high causing the postzone phenomenon.
ISSN:1473-2300