A double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted on 80 malnourished children with acute dehydrating diarrhoea to evaluate the efficacy of oral supplementation of zinc as an adjunct therapy to oral rehydration solution (ORS). After decoding it was observed that 44 children received zinc sulphate (177 mg/kg/day in three divided doses equivalent to 40 mg elemental zinc) in a syrup form and 36 children received only syrup placebo. Clinical parameters and microbiological findings of stool samples were comparable in the two groups at the time of enrollment. All the children (100 per cent) in the zinc supplemented group and 32 (89 per cent) children in the placebo group recovered within 5 days of hospitalization (p = 0.04). The zinc supplemented group had a significantly shorter duration of diarrhoea (70.4 +/- 10.0 vs. 103.4 +/- 17.1 h; p = 0.0001), passed less liquid stool (1.5 +/- 0.7 vs. 2.4 +/- 0.7kg; p=0.0001), consumed less oral rehydration solution (2.5 +/- 1.0 vs. 3.6 +/- 0.8 litre; p = 0.0001) and other liquids (867.0 +/- 466.1 vs. 1354.7 +/- 675.6 ml; p = 0.0001) as compared to the placebo group. Our findings suggest that zinc supplementation as an adjunct therapy to ORS has beneficial effects on the clinical course of dehydrating acute diarrhoea.

We report a case of tuberculosis verrucosa cutis (TBVC) on the foot that had been present for more than 6 years in a 42-year-old man. He had a positive Mantoux test and a normal chest radiograph. This case demonstrates the indolent nature of the disease. The diagnosis of TBVC should be based on history and evolution of the disease, cardinal morphological features and histopathological characteristics. Adequate therapeutic response may also helpful.

Secondary unilateral spontaneous pneumothorax can occur in a silicosis patient. We are reporting a case of bilateral simultaneous pneumothorax in a silicosis patient.

Tricuspid valve endocarditis in non-addicted patients without underlying cardiac disease is extremely rare. Therefore, its diagnosis often presents a clinical challenge. We report a case of a 24-year-old female who presented with bilateral lower lobe cavitary pneumonia. She remained febrile in spite of 5 days of intravenous antibiotic therapy. On subsequent investigations, she was found to have isolated tricuspid valve endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus aereus. She was not an intravenous drug abuser and there was no underlying cardiac disease. She responded well to medical therapy. We report this case because of rarity of tricuspid valve endocarditis is a non-addicted person with structurally normal heart and its atypical presentation with paucity of cardiac symptoms at initial stage.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jom.v13i1.10093 JOM 2012; 13(1): 124