***TASK***
the task is to simplify the input abstract of a biomedical literature

***INPUT***
the input is the abstract of a biomedical literature

***OUTPUT***
the output is the simplified abstract for the input abstract of a biomedical literature

***DOCUMENTATION***

***EXAMPLES***

Input: Twenty-seven studies involving 11,398 participants met the eligibility and study quality criteria for inclusion. Twenty studies compared stand alone clinical pathways with usual care. These studies indicated a reduction in in-hospital complications (odds ratio (OR) 0.58; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.36 to 0.94) and improved documentation (OR 11.95: 95%CI 4.72 to 30.30). There was no evidence of differences in readmission to hospital or in-hospital mortality. Length of stay was the most commonly employed outcome measure with most studies reporting significant reductions. A decrease in hospital costs/ charges was also observed, ranging from WMD +261 US$ favouring usual care to WMD -4919 US$ favouring clinical pathways (in US$ dollar standardized to the year 2000). Considerable heterogeneity prevented meta-analysis of length of stay and hospital cost results.  An assessment of whether lower hospital costs contributed to cost shifting to another health sector was not undertaken. Seven studies compared clinical pathways as part of a multifaceted intervention with usual care. No evidence of differences were found between intervention and control groups. Clinical pathways are associated with reduced in-hospital complications and improved documentation without negatively impacting on length of stay and hospital costs.
Output:

Twenty-seven studies involving 11,398 participants were included for analysis. The main results were a reduction in in-hospital complications and improved documentation associated with clinical pathways. Complications assessed included wound infections, bleeding and pneumonia. Most studies reported a decreased length of stay and reduction in hospital costs when clinical pathways were implemented. Considerable variation in study design and settings prevented statistical pooling of results for length of stay and hospital costs. Generally poor reporting prevented the identification of characteristics common to successful clinical pathways. The authors concluded that clinical pathways are associated with reduced in-hospital complications