| Context: Evaluating the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) that are
sources of nosocomial infection among medical students.
Evidence Acquisition: Electronic databases were searched by preferred subject headings and free-text keywords. After omitting
duplicates, retrieved articles were screened by two independent reviewers in a three-step process based on inclusion criteria. Then,
reviewers critically appraised the selected studies by JBI checklists and extracted the required data. Finally, the pooled prevalence
rates of S. aureus nasal carriage and MRSA were meta-analyzed by Stata V.16 software. The heterogeneity of included studies was
calculated by I2 and chi-square. Subgroup analysis was carried out according to study designs, as well as the continent origin of
clinical and preclinical students.
Results: Of 858 retrieved studies, 15 were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that the pooled prevalence of nasal S.
aureus carriage was 28% [prevalence rate: 0.028, 95% CI: 0.21 - 0.34, P < 0.001, I2: 96.40%, chi2: 360.98 (df = 14)]. The prevalence of
S. aureus among clinical students was 33% (pooled prevalence rate: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.18 - 0.47) whereas, in preclinical students, it was
25% (pooled prevalence rate: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.23 - 0.28). Also, in a subgroup analysis of continents, Australia (Oceania) had the highest
prevalence rate. According to an evaluation of publication bias, the distribution of studies was very high. Moreover, pooled MRSA
prevalence among medical students was 2% (prevalence rate: 0.02 95% CI: 0.01 - 0.03, P < 0.001).
Conclusions: In this meta-analysis, S. aureus and MRSA prevalence rates among medical students were estimated at 28% and 2%, respectively.
Moreattention should be given to the prevention of MRSAcolonizationandscreening strategiesamongmedical students
across the world. |