Risk factors of ICU or high dependency requirements amongst hospitalized pediatric pertussis cases: A 10 year retrospective series, Singapore

Pertussis causes the highest complication rates and deaths in the infant group. Our study explored risk factors for ICU/high dependency (HD) admissions and intubation/non-invasive ventilation (NIV). A retrospective review of pertussis admissions over 10 years from 2007 to 2016 was done at KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore. To understand risk factors for severe pertussis infection, we compared cases requiring ICU/HD care with controls admitted to the general ward. Risk factors for intubation/NIV were also studied. Vaccine efficacy for protection against ICU/HD admission or intubation/NIV was also calculated. There were 200 pertussis patients with a median age of 2.75 months. Sixty-one % were ≤3 months and 14.5% were