Gastrointestinal cryptococcoma – Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome or cryptococcal relapse in a patient with AIDS?

Abstract

The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) may lead to unusual paradoxical and unmasking presentations of opportunistic infections. Intra-abdominal cryptococcosis is a rare manifestation of Cryptococcus. We present the case of an HIV-infected patient on ART, with a history of cryptococcal meningitis who presented with subacute, worsening abdominal pain during immune recovery. This evolved into chronic abdominal pain, with thickened bowel, and abdominal lymphadenopathy, while receiving empiric tuberculosis treatment. At 6-months, he developed intestinal perforation due to a histologically confirmed cryptococcoma.