Abstract
Objective The study's objective was to use meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of a dressing
impregnated with chlorhexidine in preventing catheter-related bloodstream infections
(CRBSIs) in pediatric patients.
Methods The study was conducted and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. A comprehensive search of 18 databases was conducted
up to 5 March 2020 to identify related studies. Following the evaluation of the methodological
quality, 8 studies, 1,584 catheters in 1,556 patients were added to the meta-analysis.
The odds ratio and Hedge's G effect size value were employed to analyze the data.
Either a fixed-effects model or a random-effects model was used to compute the effect
size value with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The heterogeneity of effect sizes
was investigated using Cochrane Q statistics, I
2 , and Tau2 tests. To test for publication bias, funnel plot, Orwin's safe n number, Begg and Mazumdar rank correlation, Egger test, and Duval and Tweedie's trim
and fill procedures were all utilized.
Results The catheter colonization risk was lowered by 50.7% by the chlorhexidine-impregnated
(C-I) dressing (odds ratio [OR] = 0.493 [%95 CI: 0.360–0.675]; p < 0.001). The use of C-I dressing was associated with a trend toward a decrease in
CRBSIs, while this association was not statistically significant (OR = 0.858 [%95
CI: 0.567–1.300]; p = 0.471).
Conclusion The use of C-I dressing can effectively reduce the risk of catheter colonization,
and it is also a helpful tactic in lowering CRBSIs in pediatric patients with central
venous catheters, according to the findings of this meta-analysis.
Keywords dressing - central venous catheter - catheter-related infections - chlorhexidine
