Differentiating osteoarticular infections caused by Kingella kingae from those due to typical pathogens in young children.

Osteoarticular infections caused by Kingella kingae are characterized by mild-to-moderate clinical and biologic inflammatory signs that are different from those caused by Gram-positive cocci. A combined score was built to find the best model to predict K. kingae osteoarticular infections by using the following 4 variables: body temperature <38°C, serum C-reactive protein <55 mg/L, white blood cell count <14,000/mm, and band forms <150/mm.