Unveiling the antibiotic resistance pattern in Staphylococcus aureus: A systematic review (2013-2024)

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the six highly pathogenic nosocomial bacteria. These bacteria develop or evolve with several antibiotic resistance mechanisms and therefore known to escape antibiotic treatments. Several reports suggest that multidrug resistance in S. aureus is increasing worldwide over the time. Indian population is comprised of diverse ethnic group residing different geographical regions. Recent reports revealed that antibiotic resistance in S. aureus isolates vary in different regions of India.

To identify antibiotic resistance pattern in S. aureus in India.

In the present study, we overviewed resistance in S. aureus isolates to different antibiotics. We searched for the research articles on antibiotic resistance in S. aureus from India using Scopus, Google scholar, and PubMed databases (Prospero registration No. PROSPERO 2025CRD420251153034). We identified a total of 26 articles published during 2013 to 2024 in English language. We extracted the information about the location of the study, antibiotics used and percentage of the resistant isolates.

Among 26 studies, most of the studies were reported from northern India (31%), southern India (27%) and eastern India (27%), followed by western India (11%) and Pan India (4%). The findings highlight very high resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, particularly penicillin and methicillin, reflecting a substantial burden of methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Fluoroquinolones and macrolides also showed elevated resistance levels, whereas linezolid, teicoplanin, chloramphenicol, and doxycycline retained comparatively better activity.

The present review, demonstrated geographical region wise trends of antibiotic resistance in S. aureus from India, which will be useful in designing the further studies investigating antibiotic resistance patterns.