Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus multiple sites surveillance: a systemic review of the literature John Chipolombwe,1 Mili Estee Török,2 Nontombi Mbelle,3 Peter Nyasulu,4,5 1Department of Internal Medicine, Mzuzu Central Hospital, Ministry of Health, Mzuzu, Malawi; 2Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; 3Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; 4School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 5Department of Public Health, School of Health Sciences, Monash University, Johannesburg, South Africa Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the optimal number of sampling sites for detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization. Methods: We performed a Medline search from January 1966 to February 2014 for articles that reported the prevalence of MRSA at different body sites. Studies were characterized by study design, country and period of the study, number of patients and/or isolates of MRSA, specimen type, sites of MRSA isolation, study population sampled, diagnostic testing method, and percentage of the MRSA isolates at each site in relation to the total number of sites. Results: We reviewed 3,211 abstracts and 177 manuscripts, of which 17 met the criteria for analysis (n