Pleural cryptococcosis with idiopathic CD4 positive T-lymphocytopenia

Abstract

A 19 year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of chest pain. He was diagnosed as having pleural cryptococcosis by pleural biopsy. His CD4 positive T-lymphocyte count was low (<300 μl) and there was no evidence of human immunodeficiency virus infection. He was successfully treated with fluconazole. However, his CD4 positive lymphocyte counts remained low after the recovery and he was diagnosed as idiopathic CD4 positive T-lymphocytopenia. Pleural cryptococcosis is rare and its predisposing condition is still controversial. To our knowledge, this is the first case of pleural cryptococcosis associated with idiopathic CD4 positive T lymphocytopenia.