Twenty-four hour access to a CD-ROM surgical database has educational and patient management benefits.

This study determined whether 24 h access to current surgical literature via a personal computer CD-ROM was of relevance to the junior surgeon managing acute surgical referrals. Over a 2 month period, a total of 53 acute surgical referrals were assessed and initially managed by a single basic surgical trainee. The Medline database was searched using Silver Platter software for current surgical literature regarding aetiology and management after the initial patient assessment. Of the 53 searches made (mean search time 7 min 22 s), 20 (38%) were judged to have produced information that increased basic surgical trainee knowledge and a further 9 (17%) changed patient management. By contrast, 24 (45%) of searches did not reveal helpful information. The availability of a surgical database that provides the trainee with abstracts of the current literature is valuable both for the educational development of the surgeon and improvement of patient care.