Cryptococcal lymphadenitis: report of a case with fine needle aspiration cytology.

BACKGROUND

Cryptococcosis is one of the opportunistic infections in AIDS, and therefore an expeditious diagnosis is of the utmost importance since once a cryptococcal infection disseminates, it becomes life threatening.

CASE: A 40-year-old woman presented with epistaxis, fever and cervical lymphadenopathy for 20 days. Fine needle aspiration showed reactive lymphoid hyperplasia with plump, histiocytoid cells resembling metastatic deposits. The second aspirate showed ovoid to spherical, thick-walled structures that stained positive for periodic acid-Schiff stain and mucicarmine.

CONCLUSION

Lymph node fine needle aspiration cytology provides an economical and rather quickly accomplished cytodiagnostic result.