Severe pertussis in infants: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a bacterial respiratory infection caused by Bordetella pertussis.
• Severe pertussis disproportionately affects infants, carrying risks of severe complications and mortality.
• Complications include pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, and encephalitis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize existing literature on severe pertussis in infants.
• To identify gaps in knowledge and inform future research directions.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review methodology based on Arksey & O'Malley framework.
• Comprehensive searches of PubMed and Embase databases.
• No restrictions on publication language or date.

Main Results:

• 64 articles published between 1979 and 2022 were included from 1299 retrieved.
• 90.6% of included studies were published in the last two decades.
• Studies encompassed epidemiology, pathology, clinical features, risk factors, treatments, and disease burden.

Conclusions:

• Existing literature covers diverse clinical aspects of severe infant pertussis.
• Current studies are primarily observational.
• High-quality evidence requires the initiation of experimental studies.