Editorial response: management of cryptococcal meningitis—have we answered all the questions? Clin. Infect. Dis

Cryptococcal infection is probably the most important life-threatening fungal complication of AIDS. Its therapy, once difficult, has become much clearer in the last few years as the result of several carefully conducted clinical trials, and there is probably little debate about standard therapy at this point. Most clinicians would choose initial therapy with amphotericin, followed by maintenance therapy with an azole. Many would include flucytosine with the initial regimen. However, this does not imply that debate is over. There remain several issues that are potentially controversial, two of which are raised in the articles by Sharkey et al. and Witt et al. in this issue, namely: Can we use azole therapy initially as management, and does the toxicity ofamphotericin B warrant the seeking ofalternative treatment? See the articles by Sharkey et al. and Witt et al. o