Ahmed Aathir, Mahon John, Karkuri Ahmed
Orthopaedics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, IRL.
Orthopaedic Surgery, Sligo University Hospital, Sligo, IRL.
Cureus. 2023 Dec 10;15(12):e50298. doi: 10.7759/cureus.50298. eCollection 2023 Dec.
Introduction Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head is a type of osteonecrosis, which is caused by the disruption of blood flow to the proximal femur, resulting in osteocyte death. Regression of the disease is rare, and most patients will ultimately progress to having a total hip arthroplasty performed. Early diagnosis of AVN allows treatment options beyond total hip arthroplasty. One such procedure described is core decompression of the femoral head. Health literacy is defined as the ability to make health decisions in the context of everyday life. It has been shown that lower levels of health literacy are associated with higher complication rates. It has been recommended that patient information documents are written at a reading grade level (RGL) no higher that the sixth grade to help with health literacy. Methods Twenty-nine websites containing information on core decompression were identified, and the online readability software WebFX (Pennsylvania, USA) was used to carry out analysis on readability. This software was able to generate a Flesch reading ease score (FRES) and an RGL for each website. The search was carried out in the Republic of Ireland. Results The mean FRES score was 48.8 (standard deviation (SD) +/-15.3), which categorizes the data as "difficult to read." The mean RGL was 8.46 (SD +/-2.34), which is higher than the recommended target. Conclusion This study has shown that the material on the Internet regarding core decompression is above the recommended readability levels for the majority of patients. This aligns with results from similar studies that have assessed the readability of online patient information. Given these outcomes, it is imperative for physicians to take an active role in curating and delivering information to their patients, ensuring that it is comprehensible. This approach aims to empower patients with a clearer understanding of core decompression, enabling them to make more informed decisions about their health.
引言
股骨头缺血性坏死（AVN）是一种骨坏死，由股骨近端血流中断导致骨细胞死亡引起。该病很少会自行消退，大多数患者最终都需要进行全髋关节置换术。AVN的早期诊断可提供全髋关节置换术以外的治疗选择。其中一种描述的手术是股骨头髓芯减压术。健康素养被定义为在日常生活中做出健康决策的能力。研究表明，健康素养水平较低与较高的并发症发生率相关。建议患者信息文件的编写阅读年级水平（RGL）不高于六年级，以提高健康素养。
方法
识别出29个包含髓芯减压术信息的网站，并使用在线可读性软件WebFX（美国宾夕法尼亚州）对可读性进行分析。该软件能够为每个网站生成弗莱什易读性分数（FRES）和RGL。搜索在爱尔兰共和国进行。
结果
平均FRES分数为48.8（标准差（SD）±15.3），该数据被归类为“难以阅读”。平均RGL为8.46（SD±2.34），高于推荐目标。
结论
本研究表明，互联网上有关髓芯减压术的材料超出了大多数患者推荐的可读性水平。这与评估在线患者信息可读性的类似研究结果一致。鉴于这些结果，医生必须积极参与整理和向患者提供信息，确保信息易于理解。这种方法旨在使患者更清楚地了解髓芯减压术，从而能够就自身健康做出更明智的决定。
