Colonization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among healthcare students: an integrative review.

BACKGROUND Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is a worldwide concern given its presence even in non-hospitalized healthy individuals, such as university students. OBJECTIVE To identify in the literature the prevalence of colonization by MRSA among healthcare students. DESIGN AND SETTING Integrative review of the literature conducted in Universidade Federal do Piaui. METHOD A search for primary studies was performed in the following databases: Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System on-line; Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature; Web of Science; Scopus; and LILACS. RESULTS This review included 27 studies that demonstrated MRSA infection prevalence ranging from 0.0 to 15.3% among students. CONCLUSION The prevalence of colonization of MRSA among healthcare students is high, and the nasal cavity was cited as an important reservoir location for these microorganisms.