Prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Iranian Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the major hospital and non-hospital pathogens in children. This meta-analysis and systematic review aimed at exploring the data on prevalence of MRSA in Iranian children.

Primary articles in English and Persian were searched using the following keywords: prevalence, children, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Iran. Electronic databases, including Pubmed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Iranian databases such as Magiran and SID were searched for articles published in 2007-2019. Qualitative assessment of studies was done using STROBE checklist and data analysis was done in STSTA V11.

A total of 55 articles were identified and 23 met the study inclusion criteria. The prevalence of MRSA in children with S. aureus infection was 22%. The prevalence of community acquired and nosocomial MRSA was 17% and 38%, respectively.

The current meta-analysis showed considerable rates of nosocomial and community acquired MRSA infections among children in Iran. So, pediatricians should consider this issue in empirical treatment.