This study investigated how the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the rate of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar were searched to identify potentially eligible studies published from December 2019 to September 2022. A random effect model was used to determine the changes in the rate of HAIs during the pandemic. Thirty-seven studies, mostly from the United States (n = 13), were included. Fifteen studies described how the pandemic affected the rate of CLABSIs and CAUTIs, and eight of them showed a significant increase in CLABSIs. The risk of CLABSIs and CDIs was 27% (pooled odds ratio [OR]: 0.73; confidence interval [CI]: 0.61-0.89; p < 0.001) and 20% (pooled OR: 1.20; CI: 1.10-1.31; p < 0.001) higher during the pandemic compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic period, respectively. However, the overall risk of HAIs was unaffected by the pandemic (pooled OR: 1.00; 95 CI: 0.80-1.24; p = 0.990). Furthermore, there were no significant changes in the risk of CAUTIs (pooled OR: 1.01; 95 CI: 0.88-1.16; p = 0.890), and SSIs (pooled OR: 1.27; CI: 0.91-1.76; p = 0.16) between the two periods. The COVID-19 pandemic had no effect on the overall risk of HAIs among hospitalized patients, but an increased risk of CLABSIs and CDI were observed during the pandemic. Therefore, more stringent infection control and prevention measures and prudent interventions to promote the rational use of antibiotics are warranted across all healthcare facilities to reduce the burden of HAIs.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Clostridium difficile infection; catheter-associated urinary tract infection; central line-associated bloodstream infections; healthcare-associated infections; hospital-acquired pneumonia; surgical site infection; ventilator-associated pneumonia.