Abstract
Bordetella pertussis causing severe respiratory failure in infants that is unresponsive to treatment is well described. Pulmonary hypertension is a prominent feature of such cases. In this series of 13 critically ill infants with B. pertussis, hyperleukocytosis ( > 100 x 10(9)/l) was an independent predictor of death. We suggest that such extreme leukocytosis may contribute to disease severity via the formation of aggregates in the pulmonary vasculature.
MeSH terms
-
Blood Gas Analysis
-
Critical Illness
-
Humans
-
Hypertension, Pulmonary / microbiology
-
Infant
-
Infant, Newborn
-
Intensive Care, Neonatal / methods
-
Length of Stay / statistics & numerical data
-
Leukocyte Count
-
Leukocytosis / blood*
-
Leukocytosis / microbiology*
-
Logistic Models
-
Lymphocyte Count
-
Lymphocyte Subsets
-
Predictive Value of Tests
-
Pulmonary Circulation
-
Respiratory Insufficiency / microbiology
-
Retrospective Studies
-
Severity of Illness Index
-
Survival Analysis
-
Treatment Outcome
-
Whooping Cough / complications*
-
Whooping Cough / mortality*
-
Whooping Cough / therapy