Effectiveness of infant toys sanitation on microbial reduction: systematic literature review

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of infant toys sanitation, when compared to no intervention, on the reduction of toys microbial load, in different environments where the care of children exists. Method: Systematic literature review from 2003 to 2013, using databases SciELO, Lilacs, IBECS, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, PubMed, and USP, Unesp and Unicamp master and doctoral thesis digital libraries. Obtained data were tabulated and submitted to a descriptive analysis of subgroups. Results: In total, 7762 researches were retrieved. After reviewers' assessment, 12 studies were identified as relevant. These were predominantly comparative studies, assessing the microbial loads before and after toys sanitation using several methods of sanitation. Conclusion: Several sanitation methods were considered effective; however the heterogeneity of methods did not make it possible to identify the best evidence. A larger investigation for creating infant toys sanitation strategies is needed.