Clinical Features and Comparison of Kingella and Non–Kingella Endocarditis in Children, Israel

Kingella spp. have emerged as an important cause of invasive pediatric diseases. Data on Kingella infective endocarditis (KIE) in children are scarce. We compared the clinical features of pediatric KIE cases with those of Streptococcus species IE (StIE) and Staphylococcus aureus IE (SaIE). A total of 60 patients were included in the study. Throughout the study period, a rise in incidence of KIE was noted. KIE patients were significantly younger than those with StIE and SaIE, were predominately boys, and had higher temperature at admission, history of oral aphthae before IE diagnosis, and higher lymphocyte count (p