Ramli Raziqah, Jambor Maxwell Andrew, Kong Chia Yew
School of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
ANZ J Surg. 2023 Mar;93(3):590-596. doi: 10.1111/ans.18289. Epub 2023 Jan 30.
The most common general surgical emergency operations are laparoscopic appendicectomy, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, hernia repair, hemorrhoidectomy and colectomy. Patients commonly perform an internet search for more information prior to undergoing surgery, which can lead to an inappropriate understanding of their procedure. The aim is to assess the quality of information available on three of the most used search engines.
A search was conducted on Google.com, Bing.com and Yahoo.com using the terms related to laparoscopic appendicectomy, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, hemorrhoidectomy, hernia repair and colectomy. First 20 results from each search engine were collected for evaluation. Results were excluded if they were sponsored, duplicates, academic publications, advertisements, forums, audiovisual tools, social media or any non-English information. Included results were assessed for reliability using DISCERN and JAMA benchmark score. Readability was assessed using Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) Score and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG).
Hundred and ninety-seven websites were analysed, 44.7% were published by institutions, 34.5% by health websites and 20.8% by independent surgeons. Mean DISCERN scores for Institutions was 54.6 ± 11.3, independent surgeons 45.9 ± 11.4 and health websites 58.7 ± 10.3. Mean JAMA score for Institutions was 1.0 ± 1.0, independent surgeons 0.1 ± 0.4 and health websites 1.7 ± 1.1. FRE scores for institutions was 51.6 ± 10.3, independent surgeons 40.9 ± 10.2, and health websites 45.7 ± 12.3. SMOG scores were 9.8 ± 1.5 for institutions, 11.4 ± 1.6 for independent surgeons and 10.6 ± 1.7 for health websites.
Health information on common general surgical procedures found on search engines are generally fair to good quality but still above the suggested reading level of the population. Information on surgical procedures should be written at recommended reading level of 13-14 years old.
最常见的普通外科急诊手术包括腹腔镜阑尾切除术、腹腔镜胆囊切除术、疝气修补术、痔切除术和结肠切除术。患者通常在手术前会在网上搜索更多信息，这可能导致他们对手术产生不当的理解。目的是评估三个最常用搜索引擎上可用信息的质量。
在谷歌、必应和雅虎上使用与腹腔镜阑尾切除术、腹腔镜胆囊切除术、痔切除术、疝气修补术和结肠切除术相关的术语进行搜索。收集每个搜索引擎的前20个结果进行评估。如果结果是赞助内容、重复内容、学术出版物、广告、论坛、视听工具、社交媒体或任何非英语信息，则将其排除。使用DISCERN和JAMA基准评分对纳入的结果进行可靠性评估。使用弗莱什易读性（FRE）评分和简化的行话度量（SMOG）评估可读性。
分析了197个网站，44.7%由机构发布，34.5%由健康网站发布，20.8%由独立外科医生发布。机构的平均DISCERN评分为54.6±11.3，独立外科医生为45.9±11.4，健康网站为58.7±10.3。机构的平均JAMA评分为1.0±1.0，独立外科医生为0.1±0.4，健康网站为1.7±1.1。机构的FRE评分为51.6±10.3，独立外科医生为40.9±10.2，健康网站为45.7±12.3。机构的SMOG评分为9.8±1.5，独立外科医生为11.4±1.6，健康网站为10.6±1.7。
在搜索引擎上找到的关于普通外科常见手术的健康信息质量总体上尚可，但仍高于建议的大众阅读水平。关于手术程序的信息应以13至14岁的推荐阅读水平编写。
