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Introduction: Telemedicine is a field that deals with monitoring and caring for patients who are physically apart from the caregivers, so they cannot communicate without technological means. The use of telemedicine has been recognized by a number of official organizations worldwide. This article reviews a unique service, "pediatrician online", provided by Clalit HMO, through Medtrix Ltd, with Schneider Children's Hospital specialists' supervision. With this service, parents can receive medical consultation from pediatricians beyond community clinic hours. The service is provided by telephone, computer or a mobile application, and when possible video calls are made., Aims: To describe and analyze four years of telemedicine experience of the "pediatrician online" service., Methods: A retrospective study was performed including analysis of all consultation calls conducted between November 2009 (the beginning of the project) and December 2013. Every call to the service was recorded and documented. Furthermore, analysis was conducted of follow-up calls to 4% of the applicants in order to monitor medical outcome and satisfaction., Results: During the first four years approximately half a million consultation calls were provided. The average time from referral to obtaining medical advice was eight minutes. The duration of the consultation was four and a half minutes on average. Most of the calls were related to young children under 4 years (74%), dealing with common pediatric problems - fever (23%), respiratory complaints (17%), and gastrointestinal problems (12%). One-third of the applicants intended to go to the emergency department before they called the service, but only about one-sixth were referred at the end of the consultation. Among those referred, only about 60% actually went to the emergency department. The use of video-calls has been increasing, and reached an average of 30% of the applications. Satisfaction with the service was very high according to surveys, scoring 9.8 out of ten. Eighty-two percent of patients sampled reported medical improvement on the next day., Conclusions: There is a very high demand for consulting pediatricians beyond clinic hours. The use of telemedicine, as provided by the "pediatrician online" service, addresses this need safely and effectively with high patient satisfaction. Discussion: The use of telemedicine is expected to expand. In order to ensure its proper use while recognizing the capabilities and limitations, controlled studies should be conducted, exploring the outcome of different approaches in various situations.

Background: Children are the most vulnerable sub-population in mass casualty events (MCEs), however, characteristics of MCE related injuries among children have not been well described., Aim: The aim of our study was to characterize childhood injuries resulting from MCEs in Israel including parameters such as magnitude, injury mechanism and severity and use of hospital resources., Methods: We conducted a descriptive study of MCE related injuries among hospitalized children (0-17 years) between the years 1998-2007 and recorded in the Israel Trauma Registry (ITR). The main outcome measures included: body region, injury severity (ISS) and mortality rates., Results: A total of 267 children (mean age 11.3 years, 52% girls) were hospitalized for injuries caused by 75 (47%) of the 158 MCEs recorded during the study period. The mechanisms of MCE related injury were as follows: terror-related (63%); motor vehicle collision (buses or train) (32%); a collapsed building (3%); and other mechanisms (2%). Injuries among teenagers (ages 10-17 years) were twice as high as those of younger children [ages 0-9 years), (67% and 33%, respectively (p < 0.05). Head and neck (67%) were the most common body regions to be injured, followed by upper and Lower extremities (62%). Most children sustained mild injuries (55% ISS 1-8), however, a significant percentage had severe to fatal injuries (29% ISS > or =16). Severe injuries were significantly more frequent among children injured in MCEs compared to non-MCE injuries: ISS 16 (29% vs. 8%, respectively p < 0.0001), in-hospital mortaLity (3.4% vs. 0.4%, respectively, p < 0.0001), underwent surgical procedures (50% vs. 20%, respectively, p < 0.05), ICU admission rate (31% vs. 6%, p < 0.0001), and longer hospital stay (median LOS 8.9 vs. 3.5 days, respectively p < 0.0001)., Conclusions: Morbidity and mortality are significantly higher among children who are injured in MCEs than by other mechanisms. Improved pediatric pre-hospital care and hospital resources as well may enhance future pediatric MCE-related injury outcomes.

This is a case study of a 5-week-old child, after prolonged hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, with fever and urinary tract infection caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing, gentamicin-resistant, Escherichia coli. This case highlights the importance of taking risk factors for resistant bacterial infection into account in young, ill-appearing infants, and suggests that in some cases empirical antibiotic treatment should be even broader than recommended by current guidelines.