Paediatric emergency medicine.

The authors reflect on the rapid occurrence of innovations in paediatric emergency medicine (PEM) and mentions some articles within the issue. They also discuss the origins of emergency medicine, the development of hospital emergency as an independent medical specialty since the 1950s, and the important differences of PEM from its adult counterpart. An overview of the Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT) network, founded in 2004, is also presented.