Educational resource · Not a medical device · Infectious diseases review in progress · Does not replace clinical judgement

HACEK group — HACEK (Haemophilus/Aggregatibacter, Cardiobacterium, Eikenella, Kingella)

Review by an infectious diseases specialist in progress · edited by a physician, AI-assisted writing · level of evidence computed from the source type · page as of 29 October 2026 · Methodology

Pasteurellaceae / Cardiobacteriaceae / Neisseriaceae · Gram-negative

Le groupe HACEK regroupe des bactéries fastidieuses à croissance lente (Haemophilus non influenzae, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans/aphrophilus, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, Kingella kingae) — toutes commensales de la cavité orale. Responsables d'une minorité des EI à hémocultures POSITIVES. PARTICULARITÉ : les hémocultures peuvent être négatives pendant les 5-7 premiers jours (croissance lente, nécessite incubation prolongée 5-10 jours). Sérologie et PCR ARN 16S sur valve disponibles si hémoculture négative et EI suspectée. Traitement : ceftriaxone (duration not verified) (valve native) ou (duration not verified) (prothèse) — see cited source. Kingella kingae : agent le plus fréquent des infections ostéo-articulaires du jeune enfant dans la série de Ceroni 2013.

Scope: dosing as described in the cited guidelines (French or international context, stated by the source), for adults with normal renal function unless stated on the line. No renal or hepatic, paediatric or pregnancy adjustment is provided systematically. These regimens have not been reviewed by any infectious-disease specialist to date.

Documented organ tropism

Organs where foci of HACEK group are described in the cited literature. The reported frequency is not an individual probability.

Organ	Tropism	Level of evidence	Sources	Spread route
Heart / Endocardium	High tropism	Evidence B	2	not recorded
Bones / Joints (Kingella kingae)	High tropism	Evidence B	2	hematogenous (derived from the card text)
Central nervous system (EI volumineuses)	Moderate tropism	Evidence B	1	not recorded
Teeth / Oral cavity (porte d'entrée dentaire — commensaux oraux)	Moderate tropism	Evidence B	1	not recorded

Spread routes recorded: 1 of 4 documented foci (including 1 derived from the card text) A focus without a route is not a focus without spread: the route is simply not recorded.

Associated syndromes

• Infective endocarditis (IE)

Sources

• ESC Guidelines for the management of endocarditis (Delgado V et al.) (2023) — doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehad193
• Baddour LM et al. — Infective Endocarditis in Adults: AHA Scientific Statement (Circulation) (2015) — doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000296
• Ceroni D et al. — Detection of Kingella kingae osteoarticular infections in children by oropharyngeal swab PCR (Pediatrics) (2013) — doi:10.1542/peds.2012-0810

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