Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic Of Iran

en The Prevalence of Nosocomial Infections in the Eastern Mediterranean: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Infectious Disease Infectious Disease Systematic Review     Background: Evidence-based information on the prevalence of nosocomial infections (NIs) and the determination of influencing factors can play a key role in developing effective infection control activities in healthcare settings, particularly in the East Mediterranean Region (EMR). This study aimed to determine the prevalence of NIs in the EMR.    Methods: A comprehensive search of electronic databases—including EMBASE, Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science—was done between 2000 and 2021. To estimate the pooled prevalence of NIs in the EMR, a random-effects model was used to measure the effect size with a 95% confidence interval (CI). All analyses were done using a comprehensive meta-analysis.    Results: The prevalence of NI in hospital settings was reported to be 13% (95% CI, 0.1-0.16). The highest rate of nosocomial infection was related to wound infection at 39% (95% CI, 0.23-0.58), followed by bloodstream infection at 32% (95% CI, 0.27-0.38). Among the common organisms that infected patients, E. coli was the cause of 16% (95% CI; 0.13-0.2) of NIs followed by Coagulase-negative staphylococci with the prevalence of 15% (95% CI, 0.11-0.19), Acinetobacter at 15% (95% CI, 0.13-0.18) and Staphylococcus at 13%. Study results also revealed a significant relationship between the prevalence of NI, age, and hospital length of stay (P < 0.05).    Conclusion: Study results mentioned NI as a widespread challenge in the EMR, which mainly affects elderly patients with complicated clinical symptoms that need long-term hospital stay. To resolve the issue, early detection of infected individuals could improve the quality of response toward the infection. Healthcare-Associated Infections, Nosocomial Infection, Eastern Mediterranean, Systematic Review 1437 1445 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-7515-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Ahmad Ghashghaee ahmad.ghashghaee1996@gmail.com 200319475328460095685 200319475328460095685 No School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK Zahra Noorani Mejareh Znorany@yahoo.com 200319475328460095686 200319475328460095686 No Student Research Committee, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Sima Rafiei sima.rafie@gmail.com 200319475328460095687 200319475328460095687 No Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Research Institute for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran Bahare Abdollah Bahare.abdollahi76@gmail.com 200319475328460095688 200319475328460095688 No Student Research Committee, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Azadeh Laali azadehlaali@yahoo.com 200319475328460095689 1564-4765-7564-7654 No Department of Infectious Disease, School of Medicine, Firoozgar General Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Fatemeh Seyghalani Talab fatemeseyghalani@gmail.com 200319475328460095690 200319475328460095690 No Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran Maryam Masoumi m.masoumiy@gmail.com 200319475328460095691 8765-7657-7657-6576 No Clinical Research and Development Center, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran Faranak Rokhtabnak rkhtbnk@yahoo.com 200319475328460095692 8768-8768-6876-8768 No Department of Anesthesiology, Firoozgar Hospital, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Niloofar Ahmadi Ahmadiniloo77@gmail.com 200319475328460095693 200319475328460095693 No Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Neda Raoofi neda.raoofi@gmail.com 200319475328460095694 200319475328460095694 No Research Center for Evidence-Based Health Management, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran Yasamin Sarhadi Yasaminsarhadi@gmail.com 200319475328460095695 200319475328460095695 No Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Forugh Charmduzi forughcharmduzi1368@gmail.com 200319475328460095696 9877-7987-9879-9879 No Department of Pediatrics, Ali Asghar Children's Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Negin Gholamali gholamali.negin@gmail.com 200319475328460095697 200319475328460095697 No Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mona Rajabi rajabimona98@yahoo.com 200319475328460095698 200319475328460095698 No Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran Dorsa Gharagozloo Gharagozloo.dorsa@yahoo.com 200319475328460095699 200319475328460095699 No Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Behrooz Ahmadi bahroozahmadi7093@gmail.com 200319475328460095700 200319475328460095700 No Clinical Research Development Center, Imam Ali Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran Zahra Hosseinipalangi zhoseinip.1377@gmail.com 200319475328460095701 200319475328460095701 No Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Samira Raoofi samira.raoofi@gmail.com 200319475328460095702 200319475328460095702 No Research Center for Evidence-Based Health Management, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran Aidin Aryankhesal a.aryankhesal@gmail.com 200319475328460095703 200319475328460095703 No School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK Fatemeh Pashazadeh Kan negarpashazade9@gmail.com 200319475328460095704 200319475328460095704 Yes Health Management and Economics Research Center, Health Management Research Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran