Clinical deterioration and hospital‐acquired complications in adult patients with isolation precautions for infection control: A systematic review

Abstract

To review and synthesize literature examining clinical deterioration and hospital-acquired complications in adult patients with isolation precautions for infection control. Isolation precautions are a common infection prevention and control strategy which may have impact on safety and quality of care. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines guided this systematic review, which was registered with PROSPERO [CRD42019131573]. A search of Medline, Embase, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature was conducted for studies published in English up to 5 April 2019. Risk of bias was determined using Critical Appraisal Skills Program tools. Quality appraisal was performed using the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. The primary outcomes of interest were clinical deterioration events and hospital-acquired complications. In-hospital death and hospital length of stay were secondary outcomes. Data were synthesized using a narrative approach. The search yielded 785 citations after removal of duplicates, of which, six studies were relevant. Certainty of evidence for outcomes of interest was low to very low. There is no strong evidence that adult medical and surgical ward patients in isolation precautions for infection control are more or less likely to experience clinical deterioration or hospital-acquired complications. What problem did the study address? Are patients in isolation precautions more likely to experience clinical deterioration or hospital-acquired complications than non-isolated patients? What were the main findings? There is no strong evidence that clinical deterioration and hospital-acquired complications are more likely to occur to patients in isolation precautions for infection control. This research is of relevance to acute care nurses.