Quality of anaesthesia-related information accessed via Internet searches

Abstract

Background: We conducted a study to examine the quality and stability of information available from the Internet on four anaesthesia-related topics. Methods: In January 2006, we searched using four key words (porphyria, scleroderma, transfusion risk, and epidural analgesia risk) with five search engines (Google®, HotBot®, AltaVista®, Excite®, and Yahoo®). We used a published scoring system (NetScoring®) to evaluate the first 15 sites identified by each of these 20 searches. We also used a simple four-point scale to assess the first 100 sites in the Google® search on one of our four topics ('epidural analgesia risk'). In November 2006, we conducted a second evaluation, using three search engines (Google®, AltaVista®, and Yahoo®) with 14 synonyms for 'epidural analgesia risk'. Results: The five search engines performed similarly. NetScoring® scores were lower for transfusion risk (P<0.001). One or more high-quality sites was identified consistently among the first 15 sites in each search. Quality scored using the simple scale correlated closely with medical content and design by NetScoring® and with the number of references (P<0.05). Synonyms of 'epidural analgesia risk' yielded similar results. The quality of accessed information improved somewhat over the 11 month period with Yahoo® and AltaVista®, but declined with Google®. Conclusions: The Internet is a valuable tool for obtaining medical information, but the quality of websites varies between different topics. A simple rating scale may facilitate the quality scoring on individual websites. Differences in precise search terms used for a given topic did not appear to affect the quality of the information obtained. © The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia 2007. All rights reserved.