Department of Surgery, Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore, Arden Road, Co. Offaly, Tullamore, Ireland.
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Hernia. 2021 Oct;25(5):1325-1330. doi: 10.1007/s10029-021-02406-8. Epub 2021 Apr 14.
Mesh-related complications following pelvic prolapse surgery has potentiated societal fear and led to increased investigation into mesh use in inguinal hernia repair (IHR) surgery online. However concern exists regarding the quality of Internet health informatics. The DISCERN Instrument and HONcode tool can be used to assess the quality and reliability of online health information. The aim of this study is to investigate the reliability and quality of online information pertaining to mesh use in IHR surgery using the DISCERN instrument and HONcode tool.
An Internet search using the keywords: 'mesh', 'inguinal hernia' and 'surgery' was carried out via Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook and Twitter. The HONcode and DISCERN scores were generated for each of the first ten search engine result pages (SERPs).
Google provided the most reliable [Median HONcode score 77% (IQR 25.5%)] and highest quality information [Median DISCERN score; 61.5 (IQR 18.25)]. Social media yielded both the most unreliable and lowest quality information. Facebook was the most unreliable [Median HONcode score 21% (IQR 14.25%)], while Twitter imparted the lowest quality information [Median DISCERN score of 18.5 (IQR 25.25)].
A 2018 Cochrane review concluded the use of mesh in IHR to be safe and associated with superior outcomes. However, numerous SERPs present results contradicting this, based solely upon Level 5 evidence. Commercialisation of the Internet has resulted in search engine optimisation, which can permit lesser quality sites to obtain higher SERP ranking. Alarmingly if only a limited search is carried out by patients [4], lower quality, sensationalist evidence may be the only information they are exposed to. As such this may negatively influence the patient decision-making process detrimentally. However utilisation of social media by healthcare professionals may offer a solution to bridge the gap between the public and high quality medical information.
Online information regarding mesh repair of inguinal herniae is of variable quality and reliability. Enhanced quality assurance of online health information is necessary. However, increased presence by hernia societies on social media may help to disseminate high quality information to patients, thus enabling pre-hospital education to set the scene prior to formal hospital consultation.
骨盆脱垂手术后与网片相关的并发症增加了社会的恐惧，并促使人们对网片在腹股沟疝修补术（IHR）中的应用进行了更多的研究。然而，人们对互联网健康信息学的质量表示担忧。DISCERN 工具和 HONcode 工具可用于评估在线健康信息的质量和可靠性。本研究旨在使用 DISCERN 工具和 HONcode 工具评估与 IHR 手术中网片使用相关的在线信息的可靠性和质量。
通过谷歌、雅虎、必应、脸书和推特等搜索引擎，使用关键词“网片”、“腹股沟疝”和“手术”进行互联网搜索。为每个搜索引擎结果页面（SERP）的前 10 个生成 HONcode 和 DISCERN 分数。
谷歌提供了最可靠的信息[中位数 HONcode 分数为 77%（IQR 25.5%）]和最高质量的信息[中位数 DISCERN 分数为 61.5（IQR 18.25%）]。社交媒体提供了最不可靠和最低质量的信息。脸书是最不可靠的[中位数 HONcode 分数为 21%（IQR 14.25%）]，而推特则提供了最低质量的信息[中位数 DISCERN 分数为 18.5（IQR 25.25%）]。
2018 年 Cochrane 综述的结论是，IHR 中使用网片是安全的，并且与更好的结果相关。然而，许多 SERP 仅基于 5 级证据呈现出与这一结论相矛盾的结果。互联网的商业化导致了搜索引擎优化，这使得质量较低的网站能够获得更高的 SERP 排名。令人担忧的是，如果患者只进行有限的搜索[4]，他们可能只接触到质量较低、耸人听闻的证据。因此，这可能会对患者的决策过程产生不利影响。然而，医疗保健专业人员利用社交媒体可能是弥合公众与高质量医疗信息之间差距的一种解决方案。
关于腹股沟疝网片修复的在线信息质量和可靠性参差不齐。有必要增强在线健康信息的质量保证。然而，疝学会在社交媒体上的更多存在可能有助于向患者传播高质量的信息，从而使他们在正式医院就诊前能够进行医院外教育，为正式就诊做好准备。
