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Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Several researchers suggest that the first sign that cryptococcosis is in an area is the increased diagnosis of the disease in animals, especially domestic pets. Although the animals do not pass the disease to humans, their disease indicates a likely chance of exposure of humans to Cryptococcus. People with lung or CNS (brain or central nervous system) problems who have visited or inhabited areas where animals have acquired the infection should be tested for the disease.

The majority of symptoms of cryptococcosis occur in the lungs, the brain, or both. The following is a list of the major symptoms:

• Fever



• Malaise



• Pleuritic chest pain (sharp pain that occurs over the area of inflammation and increases with breathing movements)



• Cough, usually nonproductive



• Hemoptysis (bloody or blood tinged sputum)



• Headache



• Vision changes (blurry or double vision, photophobia)



• Nausea and vomiting



• Mental status changes (lethargy, confusion)



• Meningitis



• Seizures



• Coma

About 10%-15% may develop skin changes (rash, pustules, nodules, ulcers).

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Chest Pain Chest pain has many causes. Life-threatening causes include heart attack, angina, aortic dissection, perforated viscus, pulmonary embolism, collapsed lung, and ...learn more >>

Coma Coma is a state of unconsciousness in which the patient does not consiously respond to the environment and stimuli. Causes of coma include head trauma, bleeding...learn more >>

Coughs A cough is a symptom of an underlying disease or condition. A chronic or persistent cough may signal certain lung conditions that should be evaluated by a healt...learn more >>

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