***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: Seventeen studies were included. One study comparing sclerotherapy to GCS in pregnancy found that sclerotherapy improved symptoms and cosmetic appearance. Three studies comparing sodium tetradecyl sulphate (STD) to alternative sclerosants found no significant differences in outcome or complication rates; another study found that sclerotherapy with STD led to improved cosmetic appearance compared with polidocanol, although there was no difference in symptoms. Sclerosant plus local anaesthetic reduced the pain from injection (one study) but had no other effects. Two studies compared foam- to conventional sclerotherapy; one found no difference in failure rate or recurrent varicose veins; a second showed short-term benefit from foam in terms of elimination of venous reflux. The recanalisation rate was no different between the two treatments. One study comparing Molefoam and Sorbo pad pressure dressings found no difference in erythema or successful sclerosis. The degree and duration of elastic compression had no significant effect on varicose vein recurrence rates, cosmetic appearance or symptomatic improvement. Evidence from RCTs suggests that the choice of sclerosant, dose, formulation (foam versus liquid), local pressure dressing, degree and length of compression have no significant effect on the efficacy of sclerotherapy for varicose veins. The evidence supports the current place of sclerotherapy in modern clinical practice, which is usually limited to treatment of recurrent varicose veins following surgery and thread veins. Surgery versus sclerotherapy is the subject of a further Cochrane Review.
Output:

Seventeen randomised controlled trials involving over 3,300 people were included in the review. One study comparing sclerotherapy to compression stockings in pregnancy found that sclerotherapy improved symptoms and cosmetic appearance. There was no overall benefit from using alternative agents to STD (four trials), or any evidence that a foam is superior to liquid (two trials). Adding local anaesthetic to the sclerosing agent did reduce the pain of injection in one study. Neither the type, nor duration of elastic compression (seven studies) or type of pressure pad (one study) after sclerotherapy had any clear effect on the effectiveness of sclerotherapy, on varicose vein recurrence rates, cosmetic appearance or symptomatic improvement, or on complications. Many of the included studies took place in the 1980s and there is very limited evidence on which to assess the merits of sclerotherapy for treatment of varicose veins or comparing graduated compression stockings to sclerotherapy. There were no controlled trials comparing sclerotherapy for thread veins with either laser treatment or simple observation; hypertonic dextrose had similar efficacy in terms of sclerosis to STD in one study.