Point-of-care diagnosis and prognostication of cryptococcal meningitis with the cryptococcal antigen lateral flow assay on cerebrospinal fluid.

The cryptococcal antigen (CRAG) lateral flow assay (LFA) had 100% sensitivity and specificity on cerebrospinal fluid samples. Pretreatment LFA titers correlated with quantitative cultures (R(2) = 0.7) and predicted 2- and 10-week mortality. The CRAG LFA is an accurate diagnostic assay for CSF and should be considered for point-of-care diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis.