Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39044381›Full record

Trial reportClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2025

Adjunctive Single-Dose Liposomal Amphotericin to Prevent Cryptococcal Meningitis in People With HIV-Associated Cryptococcal Antigenemia and Low Plasma Cryptococcal Antigen Titers.

David B Meya, Elizabeth Nalintya, Caleb P Skipper, Paul Kirumira, Peruth Ayebare, Rose Naluyima, Teopista Namuli, Fred Turya, Stewart Walukaga, Nicole Engen and 5 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03945448 (Evaluation of CrAg Screening With Enhanced Antifungal Therapy for Asymptomatic CrAg+ Persons), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03945448 phase2 / phase3recruitingnot on this map

Evaluation of CrAg Screening With Enhanced Antifungal Therapy for Asymptomatic CrAg+ Persons

TypeinterventionalSponsorMakerere UniversityRan2019 to 2027Enrolled356ConditionsCryptococcal MeningitisArmsSingle dose liposomal Amphotericin and Fluconazole, Fluconazole
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Update on neurological complications of HIV.Current opinion in HIV and AIDS · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

David B MeyaInfectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.ORCID 0000-0002-8854-0321
Elizabeth NalintyaInfectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Caleb P SkipperDivision of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Paul KirumiraInfectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Peruth AyebareInfectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Rose NaluyimaInfectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Teopista NamuliInfectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Fred TuryaInfectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Stewart WalukagaInfectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Nicole EngenDivision of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1118-4194
Kathy H HullsiekDivision of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Abduljewad WeleDivision of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Biyue DaiDivision of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
David R BoulwareDivision of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Radha RajasinghamDivision of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5531-0231

Funding

University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UMN CTSI)UL1TR002494 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI BLAZAR, BRUCE R, WEISDORF, DANIEL J · 2018 to 2022
$34.9M
NPGH LEADERs YR12: OBSSR (Greenberg, Ngwafong Mukere) & NIBIB (Lee)D43TW009345 · FIC · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI Dibyadyuti Datta, Chandy C. John · 2017 to 2026
$15.2M
Institutional Career Development CoreKL2TR002492 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI INGBAR, DAVID H · 2018 to 2022
$6.3M
Enhanced Antifungal Therapy to Improve Survival in Early Disseminated Cryptococcal InfectionU01AI174978 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI Radha Rajasingham · 2023 to 2026
$2.6M
Evaluation of CRAG screening with enhanced antifungal therapy for asymptomatic CRAG-positive personsK23AI138851 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI RAJASINGHAM, RADHA · 2018 to 2022
$954k
Midcareer Mentoring for Clinical Research in HIV/AIDS-related cryptococcal and TB meningitisK24AI184270 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI David R Boulware · 2024 to 2026
$648k
FIC NIH HHS D43 TW009345National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases K23AI138851National Institute of Neurologic Disorders D43TW009345NCATS NIH HHS KL2 TR002492NCATS NIH HHS KL2TR002492NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR002494NIAID NIH HHS K23 AI138851NIAID NIH HHS K24 AI184270NIAID NIH HHS U01 AI174978NIH HHS
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCryptococcal meningitis is a leading cause of AIDS-related mortality. Cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) predicts the development of meningitis. Historically, despite standard- of-care fluconazole, 25%-30% of asymptomatic CrAg-positive persons develop breakthrough meningitis or death. We evaluated whether adding single high-dose liposomal amphotericin B to standard pre-emptive fluconazole therapy could improve meningitis-free survival.

methodsParticipants with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and asymptomatic cryptococcal antigenemia in Uganda were randomized to liposomal amphotericin B (10 mg/kg once) with fluconazole or fluconazole alone through 24 weeks. We compared 24-week, meningitis-free survival time between treatment groups. After the second interim review, the Data Safety and Monitoring Board recommended no further enrollment of participants with low plasma CrAg lateral flow assay titers (≤1:80) due to futility. Herein, we present the results of participants with low plasma CrAg titers.

results168 participants enrolled into the ACACIA trial had low plasma CrAg titers (≤1:80). During 24 weeks of follow-up, meningitis or death occurred in 14.5% (12/83) of participants randomized to liposomal amphotericin B with fluconazole versus 10.6% (9/85) assigned to fluconazole alone (hazard ratio, 1.42; 95% CI, .60-3.36; P = .431). Adverse events were more frequent in participants assigned to the intervention versus standard-of-care (28% vs 12%; P = .011).

conclusionsAmong CrAg-positive persons with low titers (≤1:80), the addition of single-dose liposomal amphotericin B to fluconazole as pre-emptive therapy provided no additional clinical benefit. This trial provides supportive evidence that, in asymptomatic populations with low plasma CrAg titers, lumbar punctures are likely unnecessary as administration of meningitis treatment did not improve outcomes. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03945448).

Indexed as

AIDS-Related Opportunistic InfectionsAmphotericin BAntifungal AgentsAntigens, FungalHIV InfectionsMeningitis, CryptococcalAdultFemaleFluconazoleHumansMaleUgandaYoung AdultAmphotericin BAntifungal AgentsAntigens, FungalFluconazoleliposomal amphotericin Bcryptococcal antigencryptococcosisHIVmeningitis

Identifiers

PMID39044381
PMCPMC11797045

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.