Adolescent Pertussis-Induced Partial Arousal Parasomnia

The aim of the study was to assess neurologic complications of pertussis infection. A file review of all children (age 7-18 years) in our hospital with serology-positive pertussis infection admitted from 1995 to 2005 yielded six patients with neurologic symptoms in whom electroencephalographic studies were performed. Data were collected on their clinical symptoms, electroencephalographic findings, final diagnosis, and outcome. The six patients accounted for 10% of all children diagnosed with pertussis during the study period. Their ages ranged from 10 to 15.5 years. All the children were referred by their primary physician because of a suspicion of epilepsy on the basis of parental reports of inefficient attempts to breathe during sleep accompanied by high-pitched sounds and sounds of suffocation, and sleepwalking. The children were amnesic for the episodes. However, findings on electroencephalogram taken during sleep were negative in all cases. The final diagnosis was partial arousal parasomnia. The symptoms of parasomnia disappeared with resolution of the symptoms of the pertussis infection. In conclusion, partial arousal parasomnia may be induced by pertussis infection. Further studies in larger groups are required to confirm this association.