Article in Japanese

A case of purulent arthritis due to Kingella kingae

Yusuke KUMAGAI, Masao TOGAWA

A 12 month old boy was admitted to hospital presenting with persistent fever and gait disturbance. Physical examination showed a slight swelling in his left ankle. Laboratory tests revealed that his erythrocyte sedimentation rate had increased, but with only mild elevation of C-reactive protein level and peripheral leukocytosis. Gram negative rod was isolated from his blood culture. A magnetic resonance imaging scan of the left podarthrum showed significant joint fluid. Therefore, purulent arthritis in the left ankle was diagnosed. The patient was treated successfully with three weeks antibiotic therapy. Broad-range Polymerase Chain Reaction analyses detected Kingella kingae in both synovial fluid, with a negative culture, and the strain isolated from the blood culture. It is essential that Kingella kingae infection becomes a suspect, especially in childhood purulent arthritis in spite of a negative synovial fluid culture.

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Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Osaka City General Hospital

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Received	January 6, 2014
Accepted	March 19, 2014

26 (2)：231─235,2014