The prevalence of neonatal septicemia in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis study

Background and aims: Septicemia is one of the most common diseases of infancy associated with high morbidity and mortality. In various papers, the incidence of Septicemia varies in neonates reported with suspected sepsis. The aim of this study was to estimate the overall prevalence of Neonatal Septicemia in Iran and investigate its general trend in the country by systematic review. Methods: The studies were carried out using the valid keywords in domestic and foreign databases including Sid, Magiran, Irandoc, Medlib, Iranmedex, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, Pubmed, Springer, Science direct, search-engines and Googlescholar. The results were combined using random effects of meta-analysis model. The variance of each study was calculated using the binomial distribution of the heterogeneity of studies, and I2 Index. Stata software was used for data analysis. Results: The sample size was 13889 in 26 studies. The overall incidence of Neonatal Sepsis was estimated 14.3% in Iran (CI 95: 12%-16.7%). The incidence rate of sepsis in boys and girls was estimated in seven studies with a sample of 2268 people 26.7% (CI 95%: 13.3%-40.2%), and 23.3% (CI 95: 12.4%-34.2%). Graph of meta-regression showed that the incidence of Septicemia has declined over the years 1996-2010, but this reduction was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Neonatal septicemia is highly prevalent in our country. Since nosocomial infection factors play a significant role in the neonatal infection with sepsis, with training the personnel present at the Neonatal Units and NICUs, it can be prevented from Neonatal Sepsis. Some of the trainings include practice of health recommendations such as hands washing. Using disposable tools, strong and standard disinfectants and proper cares of the umbilical cord can be pointed out in this regard