Independent Association between Rate of Clearance of Infection and Clinical Outcome of HIV‐Associated Cryptococcal Meningitis: Analysis of a Combined Cohort of 262 Patients

Progress in therapy for cryptococcal meningitis has been slow because of the lack of a suitable marker of treatment response. Previously, we demonstrated the statistical power of a novel endpoint, the rate of clearance of infection, based on serial quantitative cultures of cerebrospinal fluid, to differentiate the fungicidal activity of alternative antifungal drug regimens. We hypothesized that the rate of clearance of infection should also be a clinically meaningful endpoint.