Laboratory examination should include complete blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) level and blood cultures. While the WBC may be normal, the ESR is elevated in nearly all patients with diskitis. The CRP can be elevated in the early phase of infection and it is valuable to follow in observing the response to therapy. While blood cultures are negative in the majority of patients, a positive culture is more likely, when symptoms have been present for less than 6 weeks.6 Wenger et al.15 reported positive results in only 41% of blood cultures. Similarly, positive cultures are infrequent following open biopsy or aspiration of the disc space. Garron et al.14 reported positive cultures in 61% following aspiration of the disc space. Factors which may decrease the likelihood of obtaining a positive culture include insufficient sampling, previous antibiotic treatment or inadequate specimen collection and culture techniques.3,12,18,19 The most common organism isolated is Staphylococcus aureus.1,6,9,12,14,20 The second most common pathogen is Kingella Kingae,1,14,21 which has recently been recognized as a common organism in osteoarticular infections in young children.22