Research in pediatric hospital medicine: how research will impact clinical care.

Hospitalist medicine has enjoyed a period of rapid growth over the past 10 years and research within this domain is no exception. This article will describe the initial research conducted within the world of pediatric hospital medicine, what the future of research will hold and how this will impact the clinical practice of hospitalists who care for children. This is a review of pertinent literature that represents key progress within the emerging field of pediatric hospital medicine. Research within pediatric hospital medicine has progressed from initial studies defining the emerging field and single-center studies to widely expanding national research networks which aim to prioritize the research needs of the field and use data from multiple centers to enrich the body of evidence that guides clinical practice. The field of pediatric hospital medicine has grown rapidly over the past decade and has an exciting trajectory of ongoing growth and research.