Fulminant pertussis in very young infants: two cases and review of the literature

Pertussis is one of the leading causes of death that can be prevented by vaccination. More than 600,000 deaths from pertussis occur annually, with a disproportionate number appearing in unvaccinated infants. Pertussis is particularly troublesome because it does not necessarily present itself...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Muhammet Şükrü Paksu, Muhammet Akgün, Adil Karadağ, Nazik Aşılıoğlu, Nurşen Belet, Gülnar Şensoy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hacettepe University Institute of Child Health 2013-08-01
Series:The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
Online Access:https://turkjpediatr.org/article/view/1525
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Pertussis is one of the leading causes of death that can be prevented by vaccination. More than 600,000 deaths from pertussis occur annually, with a disproportionate number appearing in unvaccinated infants. Pertussis is particularly troublesome because it does not necessarily present itself in its commonly known classical stages. Therefore, in very young and non-immunized children, the disease may have a fulminant process characterized by severe leukocytosis, neurologic involvement and serious cardiopulmonary failure that can be accompanied by pulmonary hypertension, persistent hypoxia and death. This article describes two infants with fulminant pertussis; they were admitted for acute respiratory failure and severe leukocytosis and ultimately died from multi-organ failure.
ISSN:0041-4301
2791-6421