Fine needle aspiration diagnosis of cryptococcal lymphadenitis: A window of opportunity

Cryptococcal meningitis is the most common, life-threatening, opportunistic, fungal disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. An expeditious diagnosis is of utmost importance because once a cryptococcal infection disseminates, it becomes life-threatening. Pulmonary, intestinal, bone marrow, and retinal involvement have been described. There are very few reports, however, of lymphadenopathy along with cryptococcal meningitis. We report here a case of cryptococcal meningitis with lymphadenitis, which was diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology of the involved lymph nodes.