Invasive Infections Caused by the Common Pathogen Kingella Kingae among Children in North-Eastern Israel

Background: Kingella Kingae emerged as significant cause of osteoarticular infections and bacteremia in children. Our goal was to report our experience with K. Kingae infections in children hospitalized at a small medical center in north-eastern Israel.
Methods: charts of 24 children with proven K. Kingae infection were reviewed: 5 with positive blood culture results and 19 with positive synovial fluid culture or polymerase chain reaction. Epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory and radiological features were evaluated.
Results: infections occurred among previously healthy children aged 6 to 44 months. Five patients had K. kingae bacteremia, four had osteomyelitis and 15 had septic arthritis. 54% of children had concurrent acute illness. Mild-to-moderate elevation of inflammatory markers was noted. All isolates were sensitive to β-lactam antibiotics.
Conclusions: our small series indicates that most K. kingae infections occur in healthy children, during the first 3 years of life, occasionally following acute illness and elicit mild inflammatory response. However, due to potential invasive infections, treatment and close follow-up are required.