Via The Calgary Herald, Helen Branswell of The Canadian Press writes: ‘Ick factor’ not withstanding, patients would accept fecal transplants. Excerpt:
The grossness notwithstanding, people would likely agree to undergo a fecal transplant if they were suffering from persistent C. difficile diarrhea, a new study suggests.
The study found that though people felt the whole process was highly off-putting, most would opt for the procedure if they needed it, especially if it was recommended by their doctor.
While the study is small, it suggests the rationale behind some doctors’ refusal to perform fecal transplants — they say patients wouldn’t undergo the procedure — is unfounded, says the lead author, Dr. Jonathan Zipursky.
“That was initially what the theory was in the literature, that patients wouldn’t be willing to accept this because of the yuck factor,” says Zipursky, a first-year resident in internal medicine at the University of Toronto.
“But I think we’ve shown pretty strongly that under the correct circumstances and with the right counselling and recommendations that patients definitely are willing to try this treatment for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection.”
The study, which Zipursky did with fellow students while in medical school at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., was published this week in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
