Is leukocytosis a predictor of mortality in severe pertussis infection?
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.
Pierce
C
C
Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, UK.
Klein
N
N
Peters
M
M
D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D016638:Critical Illness; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000382:microbiology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000379:methods; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007964:Leukocytosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000382:microbiology*; D016015:Logistic Models; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011652:Pulmonary Circulation; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000382:microbiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy