Two RCTs (n=266) were included.
Methodological flaws in the studies included small sample sizes, inadequate description of patient characteristics, baseline characteristics not comparable between treatment groups, no details of randomisation, and variation in the duration of treatment between groups (1 study).
No statistically significant difference was shown in MRSA eradication between tea tree oil and mupirocin at 14 days (41% versus 49% with mupirocin; 95% CI of ARR: 0.06, -0.20, P=0.286; based on 236 patients in 1 RCT) or at 4 days (33% versus 13% with mupirocin; 95% CI of ARR: 0.49, -0.12, P=0.235; based on 30 patients in 1 RCT).
One of the RCTs (n=236) found that mupirocin significantly increased nasal clearance compared with tea tree oil (78% versus 47.3%; 95% CI of ARR: 0.15, -0.44, P<0.001; based on the analysis of 150 patients).