Literature Review on Evaluation and Management of Pertussis Download PDF

Pertussis is an acute respiratory tract infection that is also known as whooping cough. It affects all age groups but in young children, it may lead to severe complications. In children younger than 5 years old, pertussis is considered the fifth fatal but vaccine-preventable disease worldwide. However, it is still considered a major health dilemma. To review the published literature that discussed pertussis, clinical evaluation, and management. PubMed database was used for articles selection, and the following keys were used in the mesh ((“Pertussis"[Mesh]) AND (“management”[Mesh]) OR (“evaluation"[Mesh])). Early detection of the infection leads to earlier intervention and prevention of the complication. Clinical complications are more likely to appear in missed or delayed cases of all age groups’ patients. Therefore, a combination of various methods should be used instead, matching culture or PCR results with serologic test results to confirm the diagnosis adequately and quickly. Regarding management, the recommended first therapeutic step to treat pertussis is antibiotics as the literature states frankly that antibiotics should be started in suspected cases of pertussis even before confirming the diagnosis. Antibiotics hasten the bacteria clearance from the upper respiratory tract within the first couple of days of the disease’s course.