Global research landscape of health care-associated infections among immunocompromised people before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Health care-associated infections (HCAIs) pose a substantial threat to immunocompromised individuals and represent a frequent adverse event in health care delivery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the global research landscape of HCAIs among immunocompromised populations before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic search of articles published between 2013 and 2022 in the Web of Science Core Collection database was conducted, and content analytics and integrated science mapping were used for data analysis and interpretation. The review identified 1,473 articles. Only 633 articles authored by 4,151 individuals and published in 366 journals were included. The average citation rate was 14.27 per document, and research production grew annually by 9.07% peaking in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic but declining in 2022. The United States emerged as the most productive country, with 743 publication appearances and 2,485 citations. Keywords such as “epidemiology,” “infection,” “mortality,” and “risk factors” were frequently encountered in the analyzed literature. The main research themes, including “mortality,” “sepsis,” “immunosuppression,” “expression,” and “pneumonia,” underscored the focal points of importance within this domain. This study highlighted the growing interest regarding HCAIs in immunocompromised populations, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study findings underscore the need to advance research efforts to understand different immunocompromised states, develop tailored infection prevention measures, and address health care disparities to mitigate the burden of HCAIs among immunocompromised individuals.