Adverse Events Associated with Patient Isolation: A Systematic Literature Revue and Meta-analysis.

Summary Background Patient isolation is widely recommended and used in healthcare institutions to prevent transmission of MDRO. However, its risk-benefit ratio is debated. Aim We undertook a systematic literature review and meta-analysis since 2009 to assess, based on the newly published studies, whether or not there are physical and psychological adverse events associated with patient isolation. Methods Systematic literature review and meta-analysis were performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies were systematically searched from PubMed, from the 1st of may 2009 till the 31st of January 2020. The concepts of the research questions were defined as: “Adverse events”, “patient isolation or cohorting”, and “multi-drug resistant organisms colonized or infection patients”. Three reviewers independently screened studies and extracted data. All statistical analysis was performed with Stata Software and R. Findings After screening titles of 15921 articles, abstracts of 196 and reviewing full texts of 50 studies, we included 19 studies. Studies were divided into 3 groups: 4 qualitative studies, 7 observational studies suitable for meta-analysis and 8 other observational studies. Meta-analysis shows no adverse events related to clinical care or patient’s experience associated with patient isolation. Conclusions More studies with correct methodology, including a control group and standardized inclusion criteria, must be conducted to confirm our results.