Complications of Whooping Cough

About complications: Complications of Whooping Cough are secondary conditions, symptoms, or other disorders that are caused by Whooping Cough. In many cases the distinction between symptoms of Whooping Cough and complications of Whooping Cough is unclear or arbitrary.

Complications list for Whooping Cough: The list of complications that have been mentioned in various sources for Whooping Cough includes:

Breathing difficulty
Choking
Hypoxia
Asphyxia
Apnea
Pneumonia
Bronchopneumonia (type of Pneumonia)
Bronchiectasis
Weight loss
Malnutrition
Complications particularly occurring in infants:
- Seizures
- Encephalopathy (see Brain symptoms)
- Encephalitis
- Cerebral hemorrhage
- Brain damage
- Choking
- Death
- Retinal bleeding (see Bleeding symptoms)
Complications caused by forceful coughing:
- Hernia
- Abdominal hernia
- Cerebral hemorrhage
- Retinal detachment
- Broken rib
Lung damage (see Lung symptoms)
Emphysema
Asthma
Tuberculosis
Encephalitis - see also complications of encephalitis
Permanent brain damage (type of Brain damage)
Mental retardation

Complications of Whooping Cough: Major complications are most common among infants and young children and include hypoxia, apnea, pneumonia, seizures, encephalopathy, and malnutrition. Young children can die from pertussis; in the United States 5-10 children die every year. Most deaths occur among unvaccinated children or children too young to be vaccinated.¹

Footnotes:
1. excerpt from Pertussis: DBMD

Last revision: June 26, 2003

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