Mortality risk factors among hospitalized children with severe pertussis

Background Some children hospitalized for severe pertussis need intensive care; moreover, some children die because of deterioration alone or in combination with other complications. The purpose of this study was to identify the mortality risk factors among hospitalized children with severe pertussis. Methods This study evaluated the medical records of 144 hospitalized children with severe pertussis at the Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Centre between January 2016 and December 2019. Results The median age of patients was 2 months (IQR 1–4 months), with 90.3% of the patients aged 70.0 × 109/L (odds ratio [OR], 230.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.16–10,319.09 P = 0.005) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) (OR 323.29; 95% CI 16.01–6529.42; P Conclusion Severe pertussis mainly occurred in children aged 70.0 × 109/L and PH were the prognostic independent variables associated with death.