Rectal douching has attracted recent interest as a possible rectal microbicide (RM) formulation since many men who have sex with men (MSM) practice the behaviour prior to receptive anal intercourse (RAI).1 Acceptability research on rectal douches used by MSM found that if douches were available as an RM, MSM would be highly likely to use them when condoms were not used.2 This study reports on the practice of rectal douching, and the acceptability of a hypothetical RM formulated as a rectal douche among Peruvian MSM, a population with an estimated HIV prevalence of 12.2% compared with 0.61% in the general population.3
This retrospective study was based on data collected from a convenience sample of 824 MSM reporting RAI from three Peruvian cities (Lima, the Pacific coast capital, and the Amazonian cities of Iquitos and Pucallpa) participating in the 2008 HIV Sentinel Surveillance using computerised-assisted self…