Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
| Study ID | Country | Study design | Sample size (SS) and the response rate (RR) | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Bakri and colleagues29 | Jordan | Cross-sectional study | SS: Healthcare providers n = 300 RR: Not report |
4.3% respondents were familiar with FMT (95%CI = 2%–6.59%). 5% respondents would refer a patient for FMT (95%CI = 2.53%–7.47%). 40% respondents would not perform FMT due to concerns about medical litigation (95%CI = 34.46%–45.54%). Regarding FMT bank, 47.7% were worried about the consent methods (95%CI = 42.05%–53.35%). 38% respondents would not implement FMT due to fear of infection (95%CI = 32.51%–43.49%). |
| Dennis and colleagues30 | Canada | Cross-sectional study | SS: Physicians n = 253 RR: 15% |
More than 60% of respondents described themselves as being ‘not at all’ or ‘somewhat’ familiar with faecal transplantation (FT) (95%CI = 44.62%–75.38%). 76% respondents who had never referred a patient for FT (95%CI = 62.60%–89.40%). 50% respondents would not refer FT due to not knowing where to access FT (95%CI = 34.31%- 65.69%). |
| Jiang and colleagues31 | US | Cross-sectional study | SS: Physicians n = 264 RR = 34% |
86.21% of respondents would refer patients to a FT centres (95%CI = 78.96%–93.46%). |
| Ma and colleagues32 | China | Cross-sectional study | SS: Clinicians n = 150 RR: 66.67% |
36% respondents are highly familiar with and had performed FMT (95%CI = 26.59%–45.41%). 88% (n = 96) respondents would recommend FMT (95%CI = 81.50%–94.50%). 33% (n = 16) respondents would not recommend FMT due to high expectations from patients and pressure on clinical efficacy (95%CI = 9.96–56.04%). Regarding the ethical aspects of FMT banks, 64% clinicians agreed informed consent of donors and 63% privacy protection of personal information (95%CI = 54.06%–72.94%, average level). 19% (n = 16) respondents would not recommend FMT due to infection (95%CI = 0–38.22%). |
| Madar and colleagues33 | Romania | Cross-sectional study | SS: Medical students n = 80 RR: 65% |
34% respondents had at least a medium level of familiarity with FMT (95%CI = 21.12%–46.88%). 98.1% respondents are likely to recommend FMT (95%CI = 94.39%–101.81%) 31% respondents considered donor screening as a complex and expensive process (95%CI = 18.43%–43.57%); 75% respondents thought the transmission of disease undetected by screening procedures was the most worrying adverse effect (95%CI = 63.23%–86.77%). 69% respondents assumed FMT could result in the recipient acquiring an infection from the donor (95%CI = 56.43%–81.57%). |
| Mcilroy and colleagues34 | UK | Cross-sectional study | SS: Gastroenterologists n = 61 RR: Not report |
50% respondents would not consider using FMT due to a lack of strong evidence to support its safety (95%CI = 37.45%–62.55%). |
| Moossavi and colleagues35 | Iran | Cross-sectional study | SS: Physicians n = 217 RR: 98.16% |
68.5% respondents were familiar with FMT (95%CI = 62.26%–74.74%). 88.46% (n = 130) respondents refer their patients for FMT if indicated (95%CI = 82.97%–93.95%). 94.18% (n = 140) respondents were willing to accept FMT if scientifically and ethically approved (95%CI = 90.30%–98.06%). 30.7% (n = 137) respondents had recognised stool preparation as the most unappealing aspect of FMT (95%CI = 22.98%–38.43%). |
| Paramsothy and colleagues36 | Australia | Cross-sectional study | SS: Gastroenterologists n = 52 RR: Not report |
90% respondents would refer FMT for CDI, 37% for UC, 13% for Crohn’s disease and 6% for IBS (95%CI = 33.23%–60.35%, average level) 42% respondents reported a lack of evidence was the most commonly cited concern (95%CI = 28.58%–55.42%). 25% respondents agreed that there was a significant infection risk from donor stool despite screening (95%CI = 13.23%–36.77%). 12% respondents considered infection risk as their greatest concern towards FMT (95%CI = 0–20.83%). |
| Porter and Fogg21 | UK | Cross-sectional study | SS: Physicians n = 162 RR: Not report |
96% believe that the evidence base supports the use of FMT (95%CI = 92.98%–99.02%), and 94% reported consulting on at least one patient a year for whom they would recommend FMT (95%CI = 90.34%–97.66%). 33.6% respondents think a lack of availability of screened faecal solution (95%CI = 25.78%–41.42%) and 9.3% respondents think donor selection inhibits the uptake of FMT (95%CI = 4.49%–14.11%). |
| Ren and colleagues37 | China | Cross-sectional study | SS: Physicians n = 980 RR: 86.1% |
45.6% respondents had an awareness or understanding of FMT (95%CI = 42.24%–48.96%). 79.2% respondents’ greatest concerns regarding FMT were patients’ acceptability (95%CI = 76.46%–81.94%). Most respondents preferred donors who had a similar microbiota environment to the recipient, including blood relatives (50.6%, 95%CI = 47.23%–53.97%), non blood relatives (30.1%, 95%CI = 27.01%–33.19%) and intimate friends (11.9%, 95% CI = 9.71%–14.08%). |
| Stevenson38 | US | Cross-sectional study | SS: Registered nurses n = 4400 RR: 5.36% |
More than half of respondents strongly agreed (n = 24, 10.2%) or agreed (n = 110, 46.6%) in response to “I am familiar with FMT” (95%CI = 31.32%–47.88%). In the education group, 46.5% nurses agreed that FMT could cause transmission of infection (95%CI = 40.14%–52.86); 42.3% nurses in the all other practice setting agreed with this opinion (95%CI = 36%–48.60%) and 36.8% in the Acute Care group (95%CI = 30.65%–42.95%). |
| Wu and colleagues39 | China | Cross-sectional study | SS: Medical students n = 2113 RR: 86.51% |
38.2% respondents had high-level recognition of FMT (95%CI = 35.97%–40.43%). The main justifications for respondents not supporting FMT were limited reported clinical evidence (67.94%, 95%CI = 65.80%–70.80%). 73.69% participants were willing to donate their faces (95%CI = 71.67%–75.71%), while only 26.31% were unwilling or uncertain about it (95%CI = 24.91%–28.33%). |
| Zipursky and colleagues40 | USA | Cross-sectional study | SS: Physicians n = 139 RR: 97% |
95% participants were generally aware of FMT as a treatment modality (95%CI = 91.32%–98.68%) and 24% indicated they were very informed about FMT (95%CI = 16.80%–31.20%). 65% participants had neither offered nor referred a patient for FMT (95%CI = 56.95%–73.05%). 33% participants not offering or referring a patient for FMT was mainly due to not having an appropriate clinical situation (95%CI = 25.07%–40.93%). |
CDI, Clostridioides difficile infection; CI, confidence interval; FMT, Faecal Microbiota Transplantation; FT, faecal transplantation; IBS, irritable bowel syndrome; RR, Response rate; SS, Sample size; UC, Ulcerative Colitis; UK, United Kingdom; US, United States.