***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: To comprehend the results of a r and omised controlled trial ( RCT ) , readers must underst and its design , conduct , analysis , and interpretation . That goal can be achieved only through total transparency from authors . Despite several decades of educational efforts , the reporting of RCTs needs improvement . Investigators and editors developed the original CONSORT ( Consoli date d St and ards of Reporting Trials ) statement to help authors improve reporting by use of a checklist and flow diagram . The revised CONSORT statement presented here incorporates new evidence and addresses some criticisms of the original statement . The checklist items pertain to the content of the Title , Abstract , Introduction , Methods , Results , and Discussion . The revised checklist includes 22 items selected because empirical evidence indicates that not reporting this information is associated with biased estimates of treatment effect , or because the information is essential to judge the reliability or relevance of the findings . We intended the flow diagram to depict the passage of participants through an RCT . The revised flow diagram depicts information from four stages of a trial ( enrolment , intervention allocation , follow- up , and analysis ) . The diagram explicitly shows the number of participants , for each intervention group , included in the primary data analysis . Inclusion of these numbers allows the reader to judge whether the authors have done an intention- to-treat analysis . In sum , the CONSORT statement is intended to improve the reporting of an RCT , enabling readers to underst and a trial 's conduct and to assess the validity of its results The prevalence rate of ascariasis in primary school children in northern Jakarta , Indonesia varies from 60 % to 90 % . An association between helminthic infection and educational achievement has long been recognized . This study was carried out in the northern part of Jakarta among primary school children 6 - 8 years of age .  Treatment of ascariasis and health education were used as the interventions . Before the interventions , basic data on socioeconomic status , epidemiology , infection with Ascaris lumbricoides , nutritional status , and cognitive function were collected . After the interventions , only data on infection with A. lumbricoides , nutritional status , and cognitive function were collected . The children were divided into five groups . Group I was given an anthelminthic ( mebendazole ) , group II was provided with health education , group III was given an antihelminthic and provided with health education , group IV was given a placebo ( controls ) , and group V consisted of egg-negative children , who also served as controls .  Data from 336 students were analyzed by analysis of covariance . Parasitologic examinations showed a mean prevalence rate of 58.4 % for A. lumbricoides infection in the pre-intervention children and a mean prevalence rate of 40.6 % in the post-intervention children . Concerning nutritional status , approximately 80 % of the children showed good scores in the pre- and post-treatment data , and only a small percentage ( 0.9 - 16.2 % ) showed mild or moderate malnutrition . No significant difference was found between the pre- and post-treatment nutritional status . The results of the cognitive test showed that the group treated with mebendazole showed significant improvement in the Colored Progressive Matrices and Coding test . Children also showed an improvement in their learning ability , concentration , and eye-h and coordination after five months of receiving this intervention BACKGROUND The effect of helminth infestation on the nutrition , growth , and physiology of the host is still poorly understood . Anthelmintic treatment of children in developing countries has had varying success in terms of growth improvements . OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the effect of regular deworming on child growth , physiology , and biochemical status . DESIGN The study was a 12-mo longitudinal intervention in 123 Bangladeshi children aged 2 - 5 y. Treatment ( mebendazole ) or placebo tablets were administered every 2 mo for 8 mo and again at 12 mo . Weight , height , midupper arm circumference , intestinal permeability , plasma albumin , alpha(1)-antichymotrypsin , and total protein concentration were assessed every 2 mo . RESULTS Treatment with mebendazole reduced the prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides from 78 % to 8 % , of Trichuris trichiura from 65 % to 9 % , and of hookworm from 4 % to 0 % . There was no significant difference in the growth of treated children compared with those given placebo tablets . No changes in intestinal permeability or plasma albumin were observed after deworming . Significant decreases in total protein ( P<0.001 ) and alpha(1)-antichymotrypsin ( P<0.001 ) were observed in the treatment group , indicating possible reductions in inflammation and immunoglobulin concentration after deworming . A significant increase in the prevalence of Giardia intestinalis ( from 4 % to 49 % ) in the treatment group was associated with a short-term reduction in weight ( P = 0.02 ) and higher intestinal permeability ( P < 0.001 ) in infected subjects . No long-term effects of G. intestinalis on growth were observed . CONCLUSION Low-intensity helminth infections , predominantly of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura , do not contribute significantly to the poor growth and biochemical status of rural Bangladeshi children We studied growth in infected children given one dose ( 600 mg ) or two doses of albendazole per school year . Children were examined and allocated at r and om within sex by descending hookworm egg count to one of three groups : placebo ( n = 93 ) , one dose ( 1x , n = 96 ) or two doses ( 2x , n = 95 ) . Each child was treated and then re-examined and treated 3.6 and 8.2 mo later ( Exams 2 and 3 ) . The 1x and 2x groups gained significantly more by Exam 3 than the placebo group in weight ( 1.1 and 0.9 kg more , respectively ) , percent weight-for-age ( 3.3 and 2.7 percentage points more ) , percent weight-for-height ( 3.1 and 2.9 percentage points more ) , percent arm circumference-for-age ( 2.3 and 2.0 percentage points more ) and triceps and subscapular skinfolds but did not differ significantly from each other . The placebo group showed significant decreases between exams ( P < 0.0002 ) in percent weight-for-age and percent arm circumference-for-age and no change in percent weight-for-height , whereas the 1x and 2x groups exhibited significant increases ( P < 0.005 ) . At Exam 3 , arithmetic mean egg reduction rates for the 1x and 2x groups were 84 and 95 % for hookworm , 42 and 32 % for Trichuris and 55 and 87 % for Ascaris , respectively . We conclude that one or two doses of albendazole per year result ed in similar growth improvements , despite reinfection , in school-age children in an area where these helminths and poor growth are prevalent We studied physical fitness with the Harvard Step Test , growth , and appetite in primary school boys infected with hookworm ( 96 % baseline prevalence ) , Trichuris trichiura ( 98 % prevalence ) and Ascaris lumbricoides ( 41 % prevalence ) who received a single 600-mg dose of albendazole or an identical placebo . Boys were examined , allocated at r and om within pairs by descending hookworm egg count to placebo ( n = 26 ) or albendazole ( n = 27 ) groups , treated , and re-examined 4 mo later . Four months after treatment , the albendazole group showed highly significant improvements in fitness score , resting heart rate , and heart rates at 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 min after the Harvard Step Test , whereas the placebo group had not changed significantly . The albendazole group also exhibited significantly more rapid growth judged by weight gain ( 1.0 kg greater than the placebo group , P < 0.0002 ) , height increment ( 0.6 cm more , P < 0.003 ) , arm circumference ( 0.3 cm more , P < 0.0002 ) , and triceps and subscapular skinfolds ( 1.0 mm more , P < 0.0002 ) , and showed improved appetite with objective and subjective measures . We conclude that single-dose treatment with albendazole can allow improved physical fitness , growth , and appetite in school-age children in areas where these helminths and poor growth are highly prevalent A r and omized controlled trial was conducted in eastern Zaire to assess the effects of high dose vitamin A supplementation and regular deparasitation on the growth of 358 moderately malnourished preschool children , discharged from the hospital . The treatment groups received either vitamin A ( 60 mg of oily solution of retinyl palmitate , 30 mg if aged < 12 mo ) every 6 mo or mebendazole ( 500 mg ) every 3 mo ; the control group received no supplementation .  Anthropometric data were gathered at baseline and after 6 and 12 mo of follow-up . Serum retinol concentrations were measured at baseline and after 3 mo . The three groups did not differ in sociodemographic indicators , age and sex composition , nutritional status and serum retinol concentrations at baseline . In children who were vitamin A deficient at baseline , adjusted mean weight and mid-upper arm circumference ( MUAC ) increments were higher in the vitamin A-supplemented group than in the control group [ annual increment in weight and MUAC in vitamin A vs. control group : 2.088 vs. 1.179 kg ( P = 0.029 ) and 2.24 vs. 0.95 cm ( P = 0.012 ) , respectively ] , whereas growth increment did not differ between the dewormed group and the control group . In children who were not vitamin A deficient at baseline , growth increment did not differ between the vitamin A-supplemented and control groups , whereas weight gain was lower in the dewormed group than in the control group . Vitamin A-supplemented boys gained more weight and height than control boys , whereas vitamin A-supplemented girls gained less height than control girls . Dewormed boys and girls gained less weight than control boys and girls . Programs to improve vitamin A status by high dose vitamin A supplementation may improve growth of preschool children who are vitamin A deficient , whereas deworming does not Efficacy trials of antihelminthic therapies conducted in Africa have reported improvements in children 's growth , but nutritional evaluations of large-scale deworming programs are lacking . We evaluated the first-year effect on growth of a school-based deworming program in Zanzibar , where growth retardation occurs in school children . Children in four primary schools were given thrice-yearly mebendazole ( 500 mg ) and compared with children in four schools that received twice-yearly mebendazole and children in four non-program schools . Evaluation schools were r and omly selected and allocated to control , twice-yearly or thrice-yearly deworming .  Approximately 1000 children in each program group completed the 1-y follow-up . Children < 10 y old gained 0.27 kg more weight ( P < 0.05 ) and 0.13 cm more height ( P = 0.20 ) in the twice-yearly group , and 0 . 20 kg more weight ( P = 0.07 ) and 0.30 cm more height ( P < 0.01 ) in the thrice-yearly group , compared with the control group . Children < 10 y old with higher heights-for-age at baseline had higher weight and height gains in response to deworming . In children > /=10 y old , overall program effects on height or weight gains were not significant . But in this age range , younger boys had significant improvements in height gain with thrice-yearly deworming , and children with higher heights-for-age had greater improvements in weight gain with deworming . We conclude that the deworming program improved the growth  of school children , especially children who were younger and less stunted , but the improvements were small . More effective antihelminthic regimens or additional dietary or disease control interventions may be needed to substantially improve the growth of school children in areas such as Zanzibar We evaluated the effects of the  Zanzibar school-based deworming program  on the iron status of primary school children . Parasitologic and nutritional assessment s were carried out at baseline , 6 mo , and 12 mo in 4 nonprogram schools ( n = 1002 ) , 4 schools in which students received twice-yearly deworming ( n = 952 ) , and 4 schools in which students received thrice-yearly deworming ( n = 970 ) with 500 mg generic mebendazole .  Schools were r and omly selected for evaluation and allocated to program groups . Relative to no treatment , thrice-yearly deworming caused significant decreases in protoporphyrin concentrations and both deworming regimens caused marginally significant increases in serum ferritin concentrations . The average annual changes in protoporphyrin concentrations were -5.9 and -23.5 micromol/mol heme in the control and thrice-yearly deworming groups , respectively ( P < 0.001 ) . The average changes in ferritin concentration were 2.8 and 4.5 microg/L , respectively ( P = 0.07 ) . Deworming had no effect on annual hemoglobin change or prevalence of anemia . However , the relative risk of severe anemia ( hemoglobin < 70 g/L ) was 0.77 ( 95 % confidence limits : 0.39 , 1.51 ) in the twice-yearly deworming group and 0.45 ( 0.19 
    Output:
    
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Deworming drugs used in targeted community programmes may be effective in relation to weight gain in some circumstances but not in others .
No effect on cognition or school performance has been demonstrated