Prevalence of Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The emergence of Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) poses a major public health problem since it was first reported. Although the rising rates of VRE infections are being reported elsewhere in the worldwide; there is limited national pooled data in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of VRE and antimicrobial resistance profiles of enterococci in Ethiopia. Literature search was done at PubMed, EMBASE, Google scholar, African Journals online (AJOL) and Addis Ababa University repository following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. Both published and unpublished studies reporting the prevalence of VRE until June 30, 2019 were included. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel and copied to Comprehensive Meta-analysis (CMA 2.0) for analysis. Pooled estimate of VRE was computed using the random effects model and the 95% CIs. The level of heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran's Q and I tests. Publication bias was checked by visual inspection of funnel plots and Begg's and/or Egger's test. Twenty studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria and found with relevant data. A total of 831 enterococci and 71 VRE isolates were included in the analysis. The pooled prevalence of VRE was 14.8% (95% CI; 8.7-24.3; I = 74.05%; P