Background: Pertussis (Whooping Cough) is a respiratory infection caused by Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis usually occurs in childhood; severe infections are most common in infants. It can be fatal with severe complications such as pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, and encephalitis.
Objectives: We sought to synthesize the existing literature on severe pertussis in infants and inform further study.
Methods: A scoping review was performed based on the methodological framework developed by Arksey & O'Malley. Search in Pubmed and Embase databases, with no restrictions on the language and date of publication.
Results: Of the 1299 articles retrieved, 64 were finally included. The selected articles were published between 1979 and 2022, with 90.6% (58/64) of the studies in the last two decades. The studies covered epidemiology, pathology, clinical characteristics, risk factors, treatments, and burden of disease.
Conclusion: The literature reviewed suggests that studies on severe pertussis in infants covered a variety of clinical concerns. However, these studies were observational, and experimental studies are needed to provide high-quality evidence.
Keywords: Pertussis; infants; whooping cough.