The infection control team (ICT) ensures the implementation of infection control guidelines in healthcare facilities. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of ICT, with or without an infection control link nurse (ICLN) system, in reducing healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). We searched four databases to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in inpatient, outpatient and long-term care facilities. We judged the quality of the studies, conducted meta-analyses whenever interventions and outcome measures were comparable in at least two studies, and assessed the certainty of evidence. Nine RCTs were included; all were rated as being low quality. Overall, ICT, with or without an ICLN system, did not reduce the incidence rate of HCAIs [risk ratio (RR) = 0.65, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45-1.07], death due to HCAIs (RR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.04-2.69) and length of hospital stay (42 days vs. 45 days, p = 0.52). However, ICT with an ICLN system improved nurses' compliance with infection control practices (RR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.00-1.38). Due to the high level of bias, inconsistency and imprecision, these findings should be considered with caution. High-quality studies using similar outcome measures are needed to demonstrate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ICT.
Keywords: healthcare-associated infections; infection control link nurse; infection control team; systematic review.