In this episode of PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast, we explore pertussis, also known as whooping cough – a disease that remains a public health challenge despite widespread vaccination efforts. We will review the clinical presentation, diagnostic strategies, management protocols, infection control practices, and vaccination updates. This episode also covers what healthcare providers need to know about post-exposure prophylaxis, respiratory precautions, and managing occupational exposures.

Learning Objectives

Understand the clinical progression of pertussis through its three distinct stages and identify key symptoms, including age-specific presentations in infants and older children.
Implement effective management strategies for pertussis, including supportive care, appropriate antibiotic regimens, and post-exposure prophylaxis for contacts and healthcare providers.
Promote pertussis prevention by understanding vaccination schedules (DTaP vs. Tdap), addressing vaccine hesitancy, and adhering to infection control protocols in clinical settings.

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References

StatPearls
Lauria AM, Zabbo CP. Pertussis. [Updated 2022 Oct 7]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519008/

AAP Pediatrics in Review
Heather L. Daniels, Camille Sabella; Bordetella pertussis (Pertussis). Pediatr Rev May 2018; 39 (5): 247–257. https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.2017-0229

UpToDate

Yeh S et al. Pertussis infection in infants and children: Clinical features and diagnosis. UpToDate. Available at: https://www.uptodate.com. Accessed December 3, 2024.

MMWR

Seither R, Yusuf OB, Dramann D, et al. Coverage with Selected Vaccines and Exemption Rates Among Children in Kindergarten — United States, 2023–24 School Year. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2024;73:925–932. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7341a3

Transcript

Note: This transcript was partially completed with the use of the Descript AI

Welcome to PEM Currents, the pediatric emergency medicine podcast. As always, I’m your host, Brad Sobolewski, and today we’re talking about pertussis, a disease that is challenging clinicians and public health officials alike. Despite being vaccine preventable, Pertussis is on the rise, yet again, fueled by declining vaccination rates, waning immunity, and the fact that people can’t stop coughing on each other.

In this episode, we’ll go over clinical presentation, diagnosis management, infection control, and post exposure protocols. So pertussis, or whooping cough, is caused by Bordetella pertussis, a gram negative coccobacillus. It definitely spreads via respiratory droplets, and has no environmental or animal reservoirs, making humans the sole carriers.

The incubation period averages about 7 to 10 days, and the disease progresses through some distinct clinical stages, which I will go over in a moment. Pertussis has been recognized since the 16th century. I was not practicing medicine back then. Um, with the first documented epidemic occurring in Paris in 1578.

Bordetella pertussis was isolated in 1906 by Belgian researchers, Jules Bordet and Octave Gengou, I hopefully I pronounced them right, but they’re long gone, so they won’t be mad at me,, leading to the development of a whole cell pertussis vaccine in the 1940s. Introduction of the DTP, the diphtheria tetanus pertussis vaccine, dramatically reduced disease incidence overall.

In the 1990s, we got the acellular pertussis vaccine, the DTaP, which replaced the whole cell formulation due to concerns about some side effects. So pertussis remains endemic in many regions of the world despite vaccination efforts. During the 23 24 school year, DTaP coverage among kindergartners in the United States dropped to 92.

3%, which is below the 95 percent threshold needed for herd immunity. That is is why we’re seeing an outbreak now. This is a pretty troubling trend that began during the COVID 19 pandemic and has just gotten worse since. The exemption rate for vaccines rose to 3. 3 percent. This is the highest on record.

Non medical exemptions accounted for over 93 percent of these exemptions. And 14 states in the U. S. have reported exemption rates exceeding 5 percent. Idaho is leading at 14. 3 percent. So the implications of these declining vaccination coverage rates are significant and that’s why we’re seeing more and more outbreaks, especially putting our vulnerable populations at highest risk.

Alright, let’s get back to the clinical presentation. Wait, what’s that sound? Hold on. Coughing. Yeah, so that’s the whoop and the cough of pertussis. And I’d wager that many of you have not yet heard that clinically, so that’s why I included it on this episode. So here’s the stages of disease. First is the catarrhal stage, which lasts one to two weeks.

You have rhinorrhea, mild cough, and a low grade fever, if any. You are highly contagious during this phase, but it’s often unrecognized as pertussis. Then, in the next two to eight weeks, you have the paroxysmal stage. You have these severe paroxysms of coughing, the inspiratory whoop right beforehand, post tussive emesis.

Infants, especially under six months of age, may present atypically with just apnea, cyanosis, or bradycardia. for that. Following that, you have the convalescent stage, which lasts weeks to months. You have gradual resolution of symptoms, though residual cough may persist. That’s why they call it the 100 day cough.

Aside from coughing forever, there’s some important complications you need to be aware of. And they can be severe, especially, as I noted earlier, in young infants. So respiratory complications include apnea, secondary bacterial pneumonia, and pulmonary hypertension. Children encephalopathy, often due to hypoxia.

And the mechanical complications can include rib fractures, subconjunctival hemorrhage, and even rectal prolapse due to intense coughing and valsalva. Greater than 50 percent of kids under 12 months of age with pertussis could require hospitalization. 50 percent of those kids will have apnea, 20 percent will have pneumonia, and up to 1 percent will die.

Encephalopathy occurs in about 20 percent of mortality cases, probably due to hypoxia, or maybe the toxin produced by the bacteria itself. So, making the diagnosis of pertussis starts with high index of clinical suspicion. Early diagnosis, as you’d suspect, is critical to limiting disease spread and initiating treatment.

So, PCR testing, which is widely available now, has high sensitivity in the first three to four weeks and is the preferred diagnostic test. Culture is the old gold standard, but it’s slower and less sensitive. It can take up to a week to grow. CBC might show significant lymphocytosis, um, most often in infants, but it ain’t going to make the diagnosis of pertussis for you.

And a chest x ray will just show you some non specific findings, such as peribronchial thickening in severe cases. And unless you’re worried about concomitant bacterial pneumonia, you probably don’t need a chest x ray to make the diagnosis of pertussis. You can get an isolated pertussis PCR, or Or it can come as part of a respiratory panel.

But remember those comprehensive viral respiratory panels cost 1, 600. So if you’re just worried about pertussis, don’t get the whole panel. So management starts with supportive care. Infants with apnea, cyanosis, or feeding difficulties should obviously be admitted to the hospital. They may need oxygen and or nutritional support.

And you definitely have to watch those kids very closely for the complications such as hypoxia and secondary infections. Remember, a tiny baby with pertussis can go apneic at a moment’s notice even without a persistent cough. Antibiotics reduce transmission. But do not significantly alter disease progression once the paroxysmal stage begins.

So again, you are treating with antibiotics to prevent more people from getting sick, more so than shortening the duration of illness. The main antibiotic that we use is a...