Acceptability of innovative culture-based antibiotic prophylaxis strategies: a multi-method study on experiences regarding transrectal prostate biopsy

Background The acceptability of innovative medical strategies among healthcare providers and patients affects their uptake in daily clinical practice. Objectives To explore experiences of healthcare providers and patients with culture-based antibiotic prophylaxis in transrectal prostate biopsy with three swab-screening scenarios: self-sampling at home, self-sampling in the hospital and sampling by a healthcare provider. Methods We performed focus group interviews with urologists and medical microbiologists from 11 hospitals and six connected clinical microbiological laboratories. We used Flottorp’s comprehensive checklist for identifying determinants of practice to guide data collection and analysis. The experiences of 10 laboratory technicians from five laboratories and 452 patients from nine hospitals were assessed using a questionnaire. Results Overall, culture-based prophylaxis strategies were experienced as feasible in daily clinical practice. None of the three swab-screening scenarios performed better. For urologists ( n =  5), implementation depended on the effectiveness of the strategy. In addition, it was important to them that the speed of existing oncology care pathways is preserved. Medical microbiologists ( n =  5) and laboratory technicians ( n =  8) expected the strategy to be fairly easy to implement. Patients ( n =  430; response rate 95.1%) were generally satisfied with the screening scenario presented to them. To meet the various patients’ needs and preferences, multiple scenarios within a hospital are probably needed. Conclusions This multi-method study has increased our understanding of the acceptability of culture-based prophylaxis strategies in prostate biopsy, which can help healthcare providers to offer high-quality patient-centred care. The strategy seems relatively straightforward to implement as overall acceptance appears to be high.