Treatment of whooping cough: the facts.

Abstract

In the welter of discussion on the hazards or benefits of pertussis vaccination scant attention has been paid to the treatment of the child who has the illness. The recent epidemic provides a strong stimulus for critical assessment of treatments in current use. Although fatality is low (14 deaths in 1982),' 2 whooping cough remains a prolonged and very unpleasant disease for both child and parents, with potentially serious complications,3 4 and standard textbooks give vague and often conflicting 5-9 advice on current management.