Kingella kingae in Pediatric Bone and Joint Infections: The Diagnostic Value of Oropharyngeal Testing.

Key Points

• To evaluate the diagnostic value of oropharyngeal K. kingae DNA testing in pediatric bone and joint infections.
• Tested oropharyngeal samples from children with suspected bone and joint infections.
• Compared results of DNA testing to confirm presence of K. kingae in cases of proven infections.
• Measured sensitivity and specificity of the oropharyngeal testing.
• Oropharyngeal K. kingae DNA was found in all 16 children with confirmed infections (sensitivity 100%).
• The DNA was also detected in 33 out of 112 children without confirmed infections (specificity 71%).
• High sensitivity indicates the test correctly identifies most true cases, but low specificity suggests many false positives.