AUTHOR=Kuenzli Andrea B. , Müller Mandy D. , Z`Graggen Werner J. , Walti Laura N. , Martin Yonas , Lazarevic Vladimir , Schrenzel Jacques , Oberli Alexander 

TITLE=Case report: Chronic Candida albicans meningitis: a rare entity diagnosed by metagenomic next-generation sequencing

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2024.1322847

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2024.1322847

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=The aetiology of chronic aseptic meningitis is difficult to establish. Candida meningitis in particular is challenging to diagnose, as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) work-up is poorly sensitive and imaging findings nonspecific. A 35-year-old patient with chronic aseptic meningitis, for which repeated microbiological testing of CSF was unrevealing, was finally diagnosed with Candida albicans (C. albicans) radiculomeningitis using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). This report highlights the diagnostic challenges and the difficulties of treating shunt-associated fungal meningitis. In addition, it also affirms mNGS as a potentially effective tool for infectious disease diagnosis, capable of detecting pathogens even in the absence of specific target knowledge.