NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED-PATIENTS WITH PERTUSSIS - A 15-YEAR SICILIAN EXPERIENCE

Three hundred forty patients were diagnosed with pertussis infection a t the Pediatric Clinic of the University of Catania, Sicily during the period 1979-1994. None of these patients had been previously vaccinat ed. Fourteen developed neurological complications at some point in the ir course, which took the form of seizures (both febrile and afebrile) and, in some cases, encephalopathy. Serious permanent neurological se quelae were not observed in this series of patients though they had pe rtussis severe enough to require hospitalization.