Antimicrobial Resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii to Imipenem in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Imipenem-resistant multi-drug resistant (IR-MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii has been emerged as a morbidity successful nosocomial pathogen throughout the world.To address imipenem being yet the most effective antimicrobial agent against A. baumannii to control outbreaks and treat patients, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the prevalence of IR-MDR A. baumannii. We systematically searched Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, Science Direct, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Iranian databases to identify studies addressing the antibiotic resistance of A. baumannii to imipenem and the frequency of MDR strains in Iran. Out of 58 articles and after a secondary screening using inclusion and exclusion criteria and on the basis of title and abstract evaluation, 51 studies were selected for analysis. The meta-analysis revealed that 55% [95% confidence interval (CI), 53.0–56.5] of A. baumannii were resistant to imipenem and 74% (95% CI, 61.3–83.9) were MDR. The MDR A. baumannii population in Iran is rapidly changing toward a growing resistance to imipenem. Our findings highlight the critical need for a comprehensive monitoring and infection control policy as well as a national susceptibility review program that evaluates IR-MDR A. baumannii isolates from various parts of Iran.