Three pertussis cases of adolescents with well-controlled asthma

Abstract

Pertussis is an infectious disease associated with whooping, staccato cough and apnea. Adolescents and previously immunized children sometimes do not display any typical symptoms. We are reporting three cases of pertussis in adolescents with asthma, whose main symptom is coughing. At first, they were treated as asthma exacerbation cases. We later diagnosed pertussis, because they were coughing strongly at night and quick-relief medications were not effective. Patients with asthma tend to be treated as having asthma exacerbation when they are coughing. In the situations in which their coughing does not improve, different diagnoses, including pertussis, should be considered. Patients should then be treated with appropriate medications.