Pertussis is under diagnosed in infants hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infection in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Abstract

Lower respiratory tract infections caused by pertussis are a more frequent cause of admission to the PICU than generally recognized. Patient's history with paroxysmal cough suggests the possibility of pertussis and the lack of whooping cough does not rule out pertussis. Pediatricians should be aware of the limitations of their diagnostic tools when ruling out pertussis especially in infants with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis. Using new diagnostic methods add considerably to the sensitivity of pertussis diagnosis in PICU and PCR techniques should be used routinely, at least in a PICU setting.