title: Physicians' Knowledge and Attitude Towards Fecal Microbiota Transplant in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is employed to replace the 'unhealthy' microbiota of the patient with the 'healthy' microbiota of a pre-screened healthy donor. Given the growing importance of gut microbiota dysbiosis in the pathogenesis of intestinal or extraintestinal diseases; it is conceivable that FMT becomes integrated in the routine clinical practice. Our objective was to assess the knowledge and attitude of the Iranian physicians towards FMT. METHODS We surveyed the participants of Iranian gastroenterology and hepatology 2014 conference. RESULTS Overall, 146 (68.5%) were familiar with FMT; of whom 132 (94.28%) were willing to accept FMT if scientifically and ethically approved and 115 (88.46%) were willing to refer their patients for FMT if indicated. In total, 42 (30.7%) had identified stool preparation as the most unappealing aspect of FMT, while 17 (11.6%) reported the therapeutic use of fecal material as the most unappealing and 39 (28.5%) indicated that both are equally unappealing. The doctors who had an overall positive opinion toward FMT reported less negative feelings towards FMT. CONCLUSION Iranian physicians are willing to accept FMT as a therapeutic option if it is scientifically justified and ethically approved. Nevertheless, physicians prefer to skip the stool preparation phase; as they are more in favour of synthetic microbiota as opposed to fecal microbiota.
authors.affiliation: Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moossavi
authors.affiliation: Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamideh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Salimzadeh
authors.affiliation: Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Aezam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Katoonizadeh
authors.affiliation: Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Asal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mojarrad
authors.affiliation: Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Dorsa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Merat
authors.affiliation: Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ansari
authors.affiliation: Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Homayoon
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vahedi
authors.affiliation: Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Merat
authors.affiliation: Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Malekzadeh
keywords: Attitude; Awareness; FMT; Fecal microbiota transplant; Gut microbiota; Physician