Approaches to multidrug-resistant organism prevention and control in long-term care facilities for older people: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Despite clear evidence of benefits in acute-care hospitals, controversy over the effectiveness of IPC measures for MDROs is perceptible and evidence-based practice has not been established. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of IPC interventions on MDRO colonization and infections in LTCFs. DATA SOURCES: Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL from inception to September 2020. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Original and peer-reviewed articles examining the post-intervention effects on MDRO colonization and infections in LTCFs. INTERVENTIONS: (i) Horizontal interventions: administrative engagement, barrier precautions, education, environmental cleaning, hand hygiene, performance improvement, and source control; and (ii) vertical intervention: active surveillance plus decolonization. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS: We employed a random-effects meta-analysis to estimate the pooled risk ratios (pRRs) for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization by intervention duration; and conducted subgroup analyses on different intervention components. Study quality was assessed using Cochrane risk of bias tools. RESULTS: Of 3877 studies identified, 19 were eligible for inclusion (eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs)). Studies reported outcomes associated with MRSA (15 studies), vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) (four studies), Clostridium difficile (two studies), and Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) (two studies). Eleven studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pRRs were close to unity regardless of intervention duration (long: RR 0.81 [95% CI 0.60–1.10]; medium: RR 0.81 [95% CI 0.25–2.68]; short: RR 0.95 [95% CI 0.53–1.69]). Vertical interventions in studies with a small sample size showed significant reductions in MRSA colonization while horizontal interventions did not. All studies involving active administrative engagement reported reductions. The risk of bias was high in all but two studies. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis did not show any beneficial effects from IPC interventions on MRSA reductions in LTCFs. Our findings highlight that the effectiveness of interventions in these facilities is likely conditional on resource availability—particularly decolonization and barrier precautions, due to their potential adverse events and uncertain effectiveness. Hence, administrative engagement is crucial for all effective IPC programmes. LTCFs should consider a pragmatic approach to reinforce standard precautions as routine practice and implement barrier precautions and decolonization to outbreak responses only. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13756-021-01044-0.