Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy tube has now replaced surgical gastrostomy because of low rate of complications. PEG tube feeding is recommended in children for many conditions including neurological disabilities with feeding difficulty. The procedure of placing a PEG tube is simple, safe and well tolerated even by small infants and children, if done by experienced pediatric gastroenterologist.

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Background: Childhood pneumonia is one of the major causes of under-five mortality in developing countries. Any interventions which can reduce the mortality and morbidity of pneumonia are of great importance. Adjuvant zinc therapy is one such intervention studied in various parts of the world with inconclusive results. Objective: We aim to study the impact of a single dose of zinc therapy on the outcome of childhood severe pneumonia. Material and Methods: Randomized, placebo-controlled study of young children between2 and 24 months was conducted to study the impact of single dose zinc administration on time to resolution of severe pneumonia. The subjects were assigned two groups, zinc group and non-zinc group, by stratified randomization. The zinc group received unlabeled oral zinc syrup 20 mg of elemental zinc as single dose for children >6 months of age and 10 mg of elemental zinc as single dose for children <6 months. The non-zinc group children were administered unlabeled non-zinc containing placebo as single dose. Results: From April2011 to December 2011, 1284 children screened for pneumonia as per Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses guidelines and 126 children were included in the study. Of these 126 children, 63 were randomized to receive zinc and 63 to receive placebo. The mean duration of respiratory distress before hospitalization was 1.4±0.5 days in zinc group as compared to 1.1±0.5 days in non-zinc group (p=0.001). The mean duration of resolution of distress was 52.47±33.99 h in zinc group as compared to 74.17±37.76 h inthe non-zinc group (p=0.05). Similarly, the mean duration for resolution of symptoms was 65.52±36.03 h in zinc group as compared to 88.00±37.97 in non-zinc group (p=0.05). The 23% of the children in non-zinc group had treatment failure (p=0.03). Conclusion: Single dose of adjuvant oral zinc therapy in severe pneumonia, reduces the duration of respiratory distress, resolves the symptoms early and decreases the incidence of treatment failure. However, the total duration of hospitalization was not affected by zinc therapy.

Echinococcisis is an emerging zoonotic parasitic disease worldwide and is a signifi cant health burden among developing nations. Cystic hydatidosis is more commonly found in lungs and liver but rarely cerebral involvement can occur. Multiple hydatid cysts of brain are uncommon and may be either primary or secondary. Hydatid cyst shoud be considered as a differential diagnosis for cystic lesions of the brain. Here we are reporting a 8 year old boy with multiple cerebral hydatid cysts recurring within three months after surgical rupture of a primary large cerebral hydatid cyst.

Background: Obesity, one of the most widespread and major problems affecting children and adolescents is of global nutritional concern. We conducted this study to estimate the prevalence of obesity among urban Bangalore school going adolescents. Material and Methods: School based cross-sectional study was conducted in schools in Bangalore during December 2012 to November 2013. The students were given a pre-designed structured questionnaire which consisted of questions to be answered by the student, with the help of his/her parents at home. Anthropometric measurements were taken to determine the prevalence of obesity. Results: This was an observational study consisting of 748 children is undertaken to study the prevalence of obesity. Prevalence of obesity in adolescents was found to be 5.9% in the present study. Prevalence of obesity was highest among in 15 year old adolescents (9.3%) as compared to the overall prevalence of 5.9% (p = 0.039). The prevalence of obesity among adolescents had a birth weight >3.5kg was 10.7% (p= 0.069). Among obese adolescents, 79.5% had mixed diet pattern. Among adolescents with family history of obesity, 22.9% were obese as compared to 4.1% prevalence of obesity among adolescents without family history of obesity. Majority of obese adolescents belonged to upper middle class socioeconomic status (9.6%) (p = 0.028). Conclusion: There is a significant prevalence of obesity among adolescents of urban Bangalore. Mixed diet, upper middle class SES and family history of obesity have a strong correlation with the prevalence of obesity in adolescents.