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Original Article | Open Access
Low Awareness but Positive Attitudes Toward Fecal Transplantation in Ontario Physicians
Madison Dennis,1 Mary Jane Salpeter,2 and Susy Hota
1,2,31Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada
2Department of Infection Prevention and Control, University Health Network, Canada
3Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite mounting evidence supporting fecal transplantation (FT) as a treatment for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), adoption into clinical practice has been slow.OBJECTIVE: To determine the health literacy and attitudes of academic physicians in Toronto and infectious disease physicians in Ontario toward FT as a treatment for recurrent CDI, and to determine whether these are significant barriers to adoption.METHODS: Surveys were distributed to 253 general internists, infectious diseases specialists, gastroenterologists and family physicians.RESULTS: The response rate was 15%. More than 60% of physicians described themselves as being ‘not at all’ or ‘somewhat’ familiar with FT. Of the 76% of physicians who had never referred a patient for FT, the most common reason (50%) was lack of awareness of where to access the treatment. The ‘ick factor’ accounted for only 13% of reasons for not referring. No respondent believed that the procedure was too risky to consider.CONCLUSION: Despite general poor health literacy on FT, most physicians sampled share similar positive attitudes toward the treatment.
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
