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Interventions to prevent neonatal healthcare-associated infections in low-resource settings: a systematic review

Fitzgerald, F; Zingg, W; Chimhini, G; Chimhuya, S; Wittmann, S; Brotherton, H; Olaru, I; ... Dramowski, A; + view all (2020) Interventions to prevent neonatal healthcare-associated infections in low-resource settings: a systematic review. medRxiv: Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA. Green open access

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Abstract

Background: Clinically suspected and laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infections are frequent causes of morbidity and mortality during neonatal care. The most effective infection prevention and control (IPC) interventions for neonates in low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC) are unknown. Aim: To identify effective interventions in the prevention of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in LMIC neonatal units. Methods: Medline, PUBMED, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, EMBASE, and PsychInfo (January 2003 – October 2020) were searched to identify studies reporting single or bundled interventions for prevention of bloodstream infections in LMIC neonatal units. Results: Our initial search identified 5206 articles; following application of filters, 27 publications met the inclusion and ICROMS assessment criteria and were summarised in the final analysis. No studies were carried out in low-income countries, only one in sub-Saharan Africa and just two in multiple countries. Of the 18 single intervention studies, most targeted skin (n=4) and gastrointestinal mucosal integrity (n=5). Whereas emollient therapy and lactoferrin achieved significant reductions in proven neonatal infection, glutamine and mixed probiotics showed no benefit. Chlorhexidine gluconate for cord care and kangaroo mother care reduced infection in individual single-centre studies. Of the nine studies evaluating bundles, most focused on prevention of device-associated infections and achieved significant reductions in catheter- and ventilator-associated infections. Conclusion: There is a limited evidence-base for the effectiveness of IPC interventions in LMIC neonatal units; bundled interventions targeting device-associated infections were most effective. More multi-site studies with robust study designs are needed to inform IPC intervention strategies in low-resource neonatal units.

Type: Working / discussion paper
Title: Interventions to prevent neonatal healthcare-associated infections in low-resource settings: a systematic review
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1101/2020.12.17.20248047
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.17.20248047
Language: English
Additional information: The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Keywords: Infection prevention and control; low-and-middle income countries; systematic review; neonatal infection; hospital-acquired infection
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Dept
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10118389
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