***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: Using data collected as a follow-up to a r and omized trial , Melissa Gladstone and colleagues show that during the first two years of life , infants born preterm in southern Malawi are disadvantaged in terms of mortality , growth , and development The effectivity of Partusisten or ethanol long term respectively short term tocolysis by combination of a retrospective and a prospect ive-r and omised study has been compared . Long term tocolysis was better than short term tocolysis . Partusisten was more effective than ethanol . Partusisten long term tocolysis was different to other forms or treatment with a high significance . 70 % of newborns after Partusisten long term tocolysis had a birth weight of 2500 g or more Abstract . In this study , 194 imminent premature deliveries were treated . The pregnancies were in the 28th to 36th week .  Uterine contractions were demonstrable in all patients and amniotic membranes were intact . All patients were treated with bedrest . Two betasympathomimetics were used in a double‐blind study : Nylidrin hydrochloride ( 43 cases ) and Isoxuprine hydrochloride ( 60 cases ) . A  placebo  was given to 41 patients , and  ethyl alcohol to 50 patients . Intravenous and intramuscular treatment given in the hospital was continued with oral administration ' at home , and follow‐up examinations were repeated at short intervals . Taking a minimum birth weight of 2 500 g as the criteria of successful treatment , the success rate in the placebo group was 71 % , in the Nylidrin hydrochloride group 86 % , the Isoxuprine hydrochloride group 75 % and the alcohol group 70 % . When premature delivery was postponed 7 days , the pregnancy advanced , to the 37th week or later in 73 , 77 , 62 and 56 % in their respective groups . The betasympathomimetics , especially the Nylidrin hydrochloride , were in every respect more efficient than placebo or alcohol . The therapeutic effect of alcohol was no better than that obtained with placebo . From the fetal point of view , the drugs used in the present study showed no adverse effects Ninety-two women in preterm labor were r and omly assigned to either terbutaline or ethanol . In women with intact membranes , terbutaline was significantly more effective than ethanol in preventing progressive cervical dilation during the first 36 hours of treatment while betamethasone was given to the mother . Additionally , pregnancy was maintained significantly longer in women with intact membranes who were treated with terbutaline ( 15 + /- 4 days ) rather than with ethanol ( 10 + /- 3 days ) . However , only 18 % of women in each treatment group maintained their pregnancy beyond 36 weeks ' gestation . In women with ruptured membranes and cervical dilation less than 4 cm , terbutaline was significantly better than ethanol in maintaining pregnancy for a minimum of 36 hours . Serious maternal side effects were not observed with terbutaline or ethanol , although a majority of women also received betamethasone . Neither drug caused serious adverse neonatal effects Intravenous salbutamol and ethanol were compared as treatments for preterm labour , 42 patients being assigned r and omly to salbutamol and 46 to ethanol .  There was no statistically significant difference in outcome between patients in the two groups , the mean delay in delivery achieved being 15 days with salbutamol and 20 days with ethanol . Neither treatment was very effective since only 10 patients given salbutamol and 14 given ethanol had their delivery postponed to 37 weeks or later . Salbutamol was more rapidly acting than ethanol but produced more cardiovascular side effects Abstract Ethanol was administered intravenously to 26 near-term and term pregnant patients before labour and during early labour in various doses to determine the effect on bilirubin levels in the newborn . 18 patients at term , free from obstetric complications , were r and omly selected as controls . A statistically significant reduction of serum-bilirubin levels in infants in the third , fourth , and fifth days of life was observed in the group whose mothers were treated with more than 100 g. of ethanol prior to delivery . The findings suggest a simple , safe , and expedient agent which may be used to prevent raised levels of bilirubin in the newborn — levels which may affect mental and motor development in the first year of the infant 's life The CONSORT statement is used worldwide to improve the reporting of r and omised controlled trials . Kenneth Schulz and colleagues describe the latest version , CONSORT 2010 , which up date s the reporting guideline based on new method ological evidence and accumulating Abstract A controlled study , design ed to permit sequential analysis , of the use of ethanol to inhibit premature labor was carried out . Only a total of 42 patients was required to prove the efficacy of the ethanol treatment statistically In travenous magnesium sulfate and alcohol were compared as treatments for  premature labor .  A successful treatment was the absence of contractions for a 24 hour interval . Early treatment was found to be essential for successful management of premature labor .  There is a significant correlation of cervical dilatation at the onset of treatment to success at controlling premature labor . There was no statistically significant relation to weeks of gestation or parity to success at controlling premature labor . In this study magnesium sulfate was the better agent for controlling premature labor A r and omized controlled study was carried out at three medical centers to compare the efficacy and side effects of ethanol and ritodrine in the treatment of threatened premature labor . One hundred and thirty-five patients judged to be between the twentieth and thirty-sixth week of gestation and presenting with clinical symptoms of premature labor were included . Sixty-seven patients were treated with intravenous infusion of 10 per cent ethanol . Sixty-eight patients were treated with intravenous infusion of ritodrine for 12 hours followed by oral ritodrine . If labor recurred prematurely , up to two additional courses of ethanol or ritodrine were given . Delivery was postponed for more than 72 hours in 49 of 67 patients ( 73 per cent ) with ethanol and in 61 of 68 patients ( 90 per cent ) with ritodrine ; this difference was significant . Patients in the ethanol group gained a mean of 27.6 days while patients in the ritodrine group gained a mean of 44.0 days . Fifty-four per cent of the ethanol group and 72 per cent of the ritodrine group carried their infants to 36 weeks of gestation . Five infants in the ethanol group and one infant in the ritodrine group died from respiratory distress syndrome . The most frequent side effect of ethanol were nausea and vomiting . The most frequent side effects of ritodrine were tachycardia and blood pressure changes which were easily controlled by lowering the infusion rate . Ethanol and ritodrine were both found to be effective inhibitors of premature labor with ritodrine giving the most favorable results 
    Output:
    
These outcomes are likely all related to the lower incidence of preterm birth seen with other tocolytics , which for all these comparisons were betamimetics .
There is no evidence that to suggest that ethanol is an effective tocolytic compared to placebo .
Ethanol appears to be inferior to betamimetics for preventing preterm birth in threatened preterm labor .
Ethanol is generally no longer used in current practice due to safety concerns for the mother and her baby .