Our experience with hospitalized children with pertussis

Aim: Pertussis is a lower respiratory tract infection caused by Bordetella pertussis, especially seen in children younger than six months, lasting more than fourteen days and developing with paroxysmal cough, inspiratory stridor and vomiting after coughing. In this study, it was aimed to present the demographic data and clinical characteristics of patients whose pertussis diagnosis was confirmed by clinical and Polymerase Chain Reaction tests in the infant service. Material and Methods: Patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of pertussis between April 2014 and April 2019 were included in the study. Demographic data, symptoms, acute phase reactants, respiratory virus/bacterial sampling results, length of hospital stay and intensive care admissions were recorded. Results: A total of 65 cases were included. Gender, age younger than or older than one year, low birth weight, and birth before 37 weeks were not associated with follow-up in the intensive care unit, whereas 5 of the 11 cases with other pathogens in addition to Bordetella pertussis were admitted to the intensive care unit. This rate was significantly higher than in cases where no additional pathogen was detected. Discussion: As a result, it was thought that if there is a clinical suspicion in cases where the probable diagnostic criteria are not met, the diagnosis of pertussis should be confirmed by microbiological tests. In addition, it is thought that predictions can be made regarding the clinical course with the additional pathogen that can be detected using Polymerase Chain Reaction tests.