Global prevalence of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The primary purpose of this study was to estimate the global prevalence of K. pneumoniae (hvKp). isolates. METHODS: To obtain relevant data on the prevalence of hvKp strains, we searched Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE. Compatible studies published in English during the last 20 years were included. We analyzed the data using a random-effects model. We assessed heterogeneity using the τ2 statistic and the DerSimonian-Laird estimator. RESULTS: 2427 records were gathered from 174 studies, examining 40,024 isolates to assess the hvKp prevalence. The prevalence of hvKp was 0.257 (95%CI, 0.225, 0.291). The subgroup analysis based on continents observed that the American had a minimal prevalence rate of 4.9%, whereas Africa reported a maximum rate of 27.2%. Moreover, the subgroup analysis based on countries presents the lowest rate in Mexico (1.1%) and Denmark, with the highest rate at 83.3%. No evidence of funnel plot asymmetry was detected, indicating no significant publication bias. In addition, no significant trend over time was reported. CONCLUSION: This issue represents a growing clinical concern worldwide and is considered a serious alarm in treating infections caused by hvKp. Therefore, drug administration management and hospital infection control measures are strongly felt.