Diagnostic limitations of clinical case definitions of pertussis in infants and children with severe lower respiratory tract infection.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Diagnosis of pertussis is challenging especially in infants. Most low and middle-income countries (LMIC) lack resources for laboratory confirmation, relying largely on clinical diagnosis alone for both case management and surveillance. This necessitates robust clinical case definitions.

Objectives

This study assesses the accuracy of clinical case definitions with and without lymphocytosis in diagnosing pertussis in children with severe lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in a LMIC setting.

Methods

Children hospitalized with severe LRTI in a South African hospital were prospectively enrolled and evaluated for pertussis using PCR on respiratory samples. Clinical signs and differential white cell counts were recorded. Sensitivity and specificity of pert

SUBMITTER: Muloiwa R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7367487 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature