Incidence and risk factors of iatrogenic skin injuries in neonates: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
TL;DR
Neonatal ISI has a relatively high incidence and healthcare professionals should strengthen awareness and preventive measures, and large-scale studies are required to better understand the epidemiology of neonatal ISI and to develop effective prevention and intervention strategies.
Abstract
Objective
To estimate the incidence of iatrogenic skin injury (ISI) in neonates and identify associated risk factors through meta-analysis.
Methods
Relevant studies on neonatal ISI were retrieved from CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Data, China Biomedical Database, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PubMed from database inception to June 2025. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata 17.0 software. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to gestational age and birth weight, and risk factors associated with neonatal ISI were also analyzed.
Results
A total of 16 studies were included, involving 17,209 neonates, among whom 1711 developed ISI. The pooled incidence of neonatal ISI was 25% (95% CI: 20.0-30.0). Subgroup analysis showed relatively higher incidence rates among neonates with gestational age ≤32 weeks and birth weights <1000 g and <1500 g, although these findings should be interpreted cautiously due to study heterogeneity. A total of 31 potential risk factors were identified, of which 13 could be pooled for meta-analysis. 12 factors showed statistically significant associations with neonatal ISI.
Conclusion
Neonatal ISI has a relatively high incidence. Healthcare professionals should strengthen awareness and preventive measures. Further large-scale studies are required to better understand the epidemiology of neonatal ISI and to develop effective prevention and intervention strategies. REGISTRATION NUMBER PROSPERO(CRD420251107622).