To date, the development of chip-based isothermal assay systems has received great attention, whereas achieving a higher degree of portability remains a challenge. No device reported thus far is clearly superior, resulting in the possibility that sensing platforms based on different isothermal amplifications may find their way to market. Commercialization requires further improvement in on-chip sample pretreatment, miniaturization of detectors, decrease in power consumption, and the establishment of quality control. We can expect the full integration of all components on disposable credit-card-sized systems for isothermal nucleic acid amplification and detection in the near future. Given the great effort being invested in isothermal DNA microchip systems, there is no doubt that they will provide significant contributions to point-of-care diagnostics and decentralized testing. Clinical characteristics of pediatric hospitalizations associated with 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) in Northern Bavaria, Germany BACKGROUND: The 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) (PIA) virus infected large parts of the pediatric population with a wide clinical spectrum and an initially unknown complication rate. The aims of our study were to define clinical characteristics and outcome of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009-associated hospitalizations (PIAH) in children <18 years of age. All hospitalized cases of children <18 years of age with laboratory-confirmed pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 in the region of Wuerzburg (Northern Bavaria, Germany) between July 2009 and March 2010 were identified. For these children a medical chart review was performed to determine their clinical characteristics and complications. RESULTS: Between July 2009 and March 2010, 94 PIAH (62% males) occurred in children <18 years of age, with a median age of 7 years (IQR: 3–12 years). Underlying diseases and predisposing factors were documented in 40 (43%) children; obesity (n = 12, 30%), asthma (n = 10, 25%) and neurologic disorders (n = 8, 20%) were most frequently reported. Sixteen (17%) children received oxygen supplementation; three (3%) children required mechanical ventilation. Six (6%) children were admitted to an intensive care unit, four of them with underlying chronic diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Most PIAH demonstrated a benign course of disease. However, six children (6%) needed treatment at an intensive care unit for severe complications. Influenza is a common cause of illness in children, predominantly treated as outpatients. For seasonal influenza, annual incidences for influenza-associated hospitalizations were estimated as 90 (CI 95%: 80-110) /100,000 in children <5 years old in the USA [1] , and as 123/100,000 in children <6 years of age in a German region [2] .