Prevalence of contamination in the healthcare environment and instruments: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Worldwide, infection is becoming one of the most common healthcare-associated infections. Management and control of this infection in healthcare facilities are associated with screening for environmental and instrumental contamination. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the overall prevalence of in hospital settings, medical devices, and instruments.

Methods: Four main databases, PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus, were searched using the keywords , clostridia, spp., hospital environments, antibiotic associate colitis, intensive care unit, and ward in combination as a search strategy. The PRISMA checklist was used for selecting eligible studies.

Results: A total of 11 eligible articles published between 2012 and 2021 were included. The overall pooled prevalence of in hospital environments was 14.9%. The highest and lowest prevalence were reported for India (51.1%) and the USA (1.6%), respectively. The highest prevalence was reported for beds (46.3%). A significant heterogeneity was seen between prevalence in hospital environments in different samples. The highest and lowest prevalence was reported for floor corners (63.2%) and privacy curtains (1.4%), respectively.

Conclusions: In conclusion, hospitals' medical devices and environmental surfaces are considered a crucial source of infection. In this regard, we strongly recommend revising and improving the cleaning and disinfection methods in hospitals and quality control of cleaning adequacy.