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Extracorporeal life support in pertussis

Suneel Pooboni1, Neil Roberts, Claire Westrope

  • 1Department of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Paediatric Intensive Care, Glenfield Hospital, Groby Road, Leicester LE3 9PQ, UK.

Pediatric Pulmonology
|September 2, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Severe pertussis (whooping cough) in infants can be fatal. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) offers a potential treatment for respiratory failure, but mortality remains high, especially with multi-organ dysfunction.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Critical Care Medicine

Background:

  • Severe B. pertussis (pertussis) infection presents with respiratory failure, pulmonary hypertension, and leukocytosis in infants.
  • Unvaccinated infants under 3 months are particularly vulnerable to severe pertussis complications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the course and outcomes of severe B. pertussis infection treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
  • To evaluate the efficacy and identify factors associated with mortality in infants receiving ECMO for pertussis.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective case analysis of infants treated with ECMO for severe B. pertussis infection over a decade.
  • Review of clinical data including age, vaccination status, neutrophil count, and organ dysfunction.

Main Results:

  • Out of 12 infants receiving ECMO for pertussis, 7 (58%) died.
  • High mortality was linked to elevated neutrophil counts and multi-organ dysfunction (pulmonary hypertension, hypotension, renal insufficiency, seizures).
  • All treated infants were unvaccinated and under 3 months old.

Conclusions:

  • ECMO is a viable option for infants with pertussis-related respiratory failure unresponsive to mechanical ventilation.
  • Further research is needed to optimize ECMO management for infants with severe pertussis and multi-organ dysfunction.

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