Polymerase chain reaction detection of Kingella kingae in children with culture-negative septic arthritis in eastern Ontario.

Background: The bacterium Kingella kingae may be an under-recognized cause of septic arthritis in Canadian children because it is difficult to grow in culture and best detected using molecular methods.

Objective: To determine whether K kingae is present in culture-negative joint fluid specimens from children in eastern Ontario using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection methods.

Methods: K kingae PCR testing was performed using residual bacterial culture-negative joint fluid collected from 2010 to 2013 at a children's hospital in Ottawa, Ontario. The clinical features of children with infections caused by K kingae were compared with those of children with infections caused by the 'typical' septic arthritis bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes.

Results: A total of 50 joint fluid specimens were submitted over the study period. Ten were culture-positive, eight for S aureus and two for S pyogenes. Residual joint fluid was available for 27 of the 40 culture-negative specimens and K kingae was detected using PCR in seven (25.93%) of these samples. Children with K kingae were significantly younger (median age 1.7 versus 11.3 years; P=0.01) and had lower C-reactive protein levels (median 23.8 mg/L versus 117.6. mg/L; P=0.01) than those infected with other bacteria.

Conclusions: K kingae was frequently detected using PCR in culture-negative joint fluid specimens from children in eastern Ontario. K kingae PCR testing of culture-negative joint samples in children appears to be warranted.