ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION QUALITY ABOUT SURGICAL TREATMENT FOR HEMORRHOIDAL DISEASE ON THE BRAZILIAN INTERNET

Introduction Although the internet has brought patients and doctors closer, not all health-related information found online is accurate or well-written. This can disrupt appropriate medical practice, as some patients may distrust professionals due to inaccurate information read online. Regarding hemorrhoidal disease, numerous surgical techniques have been developed, such as hemorrhoidectomy, hemorrhoidopexy, and Doppler-guided hemorrhoidal artery ligation. These techniques are commonly searched for by the general population interested in the subject.

Objective/Method The study aimed to analyze whether the information available online about surgical treatment for hemorrhoidal disease, via Google, is of satisfactory, explanatory, and up-to-date quality. A total of 25 open-access websites retrieved through the search engine were selected for analysis. The DISCERN tool was applied to evaluate the quality of health information regarding treatment options. DISCERN encompasses 16 questions divided into three sections, with the final section providing a general rating of the publication's quality.

Results Section 3 of the DISCERN tool assesses the overall quality of the publication as a source of information about treatment options, based on responses to all previous questions. The average score for this section was 2.64 points (52.8%), with 16% of websites scoring 1, 36% scoring 2, 24% scoring 3, 16% scoring 4, and 8% scoring 5. Among the 25 sites analyzed, at least 50% showed bias, favoring one treatment as superior. Notably, the transanal dearterialization technique was mentioned in 32% of the websites as a more recent method. However, its long-term efficacy - especially for larger hemorrhoids - remains debatable, showing similar results to other techniques but with higher cost-effectiveness concerns.

Conclusion A general evaluation based on Section 3 of the DISCERN tool revealed data about the quality of the publications. The study found that the average score for this section was 2.64 out of 5, equivalent to 52.8 out of 100. Therefore, the information available online about surgical treatment for hemorrhoidal disease lacks satisfactory, explanatory, and updated quality. Consequently, it does not provide reliable information for the general public, hindering patients’ ability to seek and understand the best treatment options for their cases.

No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
25 April 2025