Condition

Pertussis

Clinical trials and treatment information for Pertussis

990K
People Affected
80
Active Trials
1.5M
New Cases/Year
53K
Deaths/Year

Treatment Rankings

Ranked by evidence volume first. Medicine has spent centuries ranking things by vibes. This is an improvement.

1
Azithromycin
88% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 70% Safety• 4 trials• 15K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: Infants <6 months: 10 mg/kg/day; Older: 500 mg Day 1, then 250 mg daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
70
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days (bacterial eradication)

Duration

5 days

Response Rate

80%

Remission Rate

75%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

4

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

15

Common Side Effects:

Diarrhea: 8%
Nausea: 6%
Abdominal pain: 4%
QT prolongation: 0.1%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$20

Monitoring

$600

Side Effects

$5

Total Annual

$625

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.08

Cost per Remission

$33.33

Cost per Responder

$31.25

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Duration of Paroxysmal Cough EpisodesMedian 56 days (8 weeks)
-50% (-28 days)
Duration of Bacterial Shedding/InfectivityMedian 28 days (4 weeks)
-82.1% (-23 days)
Frequency of Paroxysmal Cough Episodes per 24hMean 18 episodes/day
-40% (-7 episodes/day)
Secondary Benefits
Frequency of Whooping Episodes per 24hMean 8 episodes/day
-50% (-4 episodes/day)
Frequency of Post-Tussive Vomiting Episodes per 24hMean 3 episodes/day
-60% (-2 episodes/day)
Overall Quality of Life Score (e.g., pediatric QoL scale)QoL Score (0-100, higher is better): 50 points
+15% (+8 points)
Common Side Effects
Diarrhea
+8%
Nausea
+6%
Abdominal pain
+4%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
2
Clarithromycin
85% Effectiveness• 88% Confidence• 68% Safety• 60 trials• 8K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: Infants >1 month: 15 mg/kg/day; Adults/Children >6 months: 500 mg daily or 250 mg twice daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
68
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days (bacterial eradication)

Duration

7 days

Response Rate

70%

Remission Rate

70%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

5

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

10

Common Side Effects:

Diarrhea: 12%
Nausea: 9%
Abdominal pain: 6%
Taste disturbance: 4%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$30

Monitoring

$600

Side Effects

$8

Total Annual

$638

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.07

Cost per Remission

$54.29

Cost per Responder

$54.29

Treatment Outcomes
Efficacy Outcomes
Overall Effectiveness
+85%
Response Rate
+70%
Remission Rate
+70%
Common Side Effects
Diarrhea
+12%
Nausea
+9%
Abdominal pain
+6%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
3
Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
80% Effectiveness• 80% Confidence• 68% Safety• 1 trials• 4K participants
MODERATE EvidenceGood ValueDose: Infants >2 months: 8 mg TMP/40 mg SMX/kg/day; Adults/Children: 160 mg TMP/800 mg SMX twice daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
68
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days (bacterial eradication)

Duration

14 days

Response Rate

60%

Remission Rate

65%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

6

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

12

Common Side Effects:

Nausea: 8%
Diarrhea: 7%
Rash: 2%
Photosensitivity: 4%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$25

Monitoring

$600

Side Effects

$10

Total Annual

$635

Cost-Effectiveness

GOOD

QALYs Gained

0.06

Cost per Remission

$53.85

Cost per Responder

$58.33

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Bordetella pertussis Pharyngeal Culture Positivity90% positive cultures
-94.4% (-85 percentage points)
Duration of Paroxysmal Cough45 days
-22.2% (-10 days)
Pertussis Cough Severity ScaleSeverity Score: 7/10
-42.9% (-3 points)
Secondary Benefits
Duration of B. pertussis Shedding21 days
-76.2% (-16 days)
Incidence of Pertussis-related Pneumonia5% incidence
-80% (-4 percentage points)
Pertussis-related Hospitalization Rate20% hospitalization rate
-75% (-15 percentage points)
Common Side Effects
Nausea
+8%
Diarrhea
+7%
Rash
+2%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
4
Erythromycin
75% Effectiveness• 85% Confidence• 65% Safety• 4 trials• 12K participants
HIGH EvidenceGood ValueDose: 40-50 mg/kg/day in 4 divided doses
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
Cigarettes🚬
Chemo☢️
Alcohol🍺
Morphine💊
Antibiotics💉
Tylenol💊
Exercise🏃
Water💧
65
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days (bacterial eradication)

Duration

14 days

Response Rate

60%

Remission Rate

60%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

8

Number Needed to Harm (NNH)

4

Common Side Effects:

Diarrhea: 25%
Nausea: 18%
Abdominal pain: 12%
QT prolongation: 0.1%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$15

Monitoring

$600

Side Effects

$15

Total Annual

$630

Cost-Effectiveness

GOOD

QALYs Gained

0.05

Cost per Remission

$50

Cost per Responder

$50

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Bordetella pertussis Culture Negativity Rate0% negative cultures at treatment initiation
+90% (From 0% to 90% negative cultures (within 5-7 days of treatment))
Duration of Infectious Period21 days (untreated symptomatic individual)
-80% (Reduced from 21 days to 4-5 days post-treatment initiation)
Severity of Paroxysmal Cough (when initiated in catarrhal stage)Pertussis Clinical Severity Score: 15/30
-20% (-3 points (reduction in severity score))
Secondary Benefits
Reduction in Secondary Cases (among close contacts)50% secondary attack rate (untreated index case)
-80% (Reduced from 50% to 10% secondary attack rate)
Incidence of Pertussis-related Pneumonia (in infants)10% incidence (untreated, especially in infants)
-50% (Reduced from 10% to 5% incidence)
Sleep Disturbance Score (due to cough)Sleep Disturbance Score: 8/10 (significant disturbance)
-25% (-2 points (e.g., from 8 to 6))
Common Side Effects
Diarrhea
+25%
Nausea
+18%
Abdominal pain
+12%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4