Metallo-beta-Lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL)-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa is considered to be a serious threat to human health worldwide. Limited information is available concerning the prevalence of MBL-producing P. aeruginosa in Iran. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of MBL-producing P. aeruginosa in different parts of Iran. We searched major electronic databases including PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar as well as two Iranian search engines using appropriate keywords. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, related papers were recruited for the study. The prevalence of MBL-producing P. aeruginosa in Iranian population was about 32.4 %. Our findings also revealed that the highest prevalence of MBL-producing P. aeruginosa was in Isfahan with 60% (95% CI: 0.27-0.86). In addition, in Iranian population the most reported MBL gene was blaVIM and blaIMP, with frequencies of 19% (95% CI: 0.15-0.23) and 11% (95% CI: 0.08-0.14), respectively. Based on our findings, in the majority of Iranian hospitals, the prevalence of MBL-producing P. aeruginosa is alarmingly high necessitating the need for designing appropriate infection control programs.