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. 1988 Jul;78(7):833–836. doi: 10.2105/ajph.78.7.833

Sensitivity and specificity of clinical case definitions for pertussis.

P A Patriarca 1, R J Biellik 1, G Sanden 1, D G Burstyn 1, P D Mitchell 1, P R Silverman 1, J P Davis 1, C R Manclark 1
PMCID: PMC1350347  PMID: 3289409

Abstract

We evaluated the diagnostic performance of 15 clinical case definitions for pertussis in 233 patients who developed acute respiratory illness during community outbreaks in Wisconsin and Delaware. Using results from culture (Regan-Lowe media) and serology (Ig-class-specific ELISA) as diagnostic standards, cough for greater than or equal to 14 days was both sensitive (84 per cent-92 per cent) and specific (63 percent-90 per cent) in identifying patients with pertussis. This definition may be useful in monitoring pertussis outbreaks and for investigating contacts of culture-positive cases.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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