Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Objective

Limited knowledge exists regarding the information patients seek online about sinus procedures. The goals of our study were to identify the most searched online queries regarding functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) and balloon sinuplasty and evaluate the sources to which patients are directed.

Study Design

Observational.

Setting

Online Google Database.

Methods

Google data were analyzed using the search engine optimization tool Ahrefs. People Also Ask (PAA) questions (extracted from Google searches) helped identify questions for analysis of search query volume. Search results were categorized into specific topics, and the source (eg, academic vs medical practice) of the information was identified. The JAMA benchmark criteria were used to determine the quality of the online resource.

Results

The most searched term (average monthly queries) on Google was “sinus surgery” (13,190), followed by “balloon sinuplasty” (9212). For FESS and balloon sinuplasty, most questions focused on treatment of sinusitis (71.64% vs 79.19%) and preoperative inquiries about sinus issues (11.50% vs 11.35%). Answers to PAA questions for FESS were obtained from academic sources at a higher frequency compared to balloon sinuplasty (26.7% vs 10.3%, P = .016) but a lower frequency from medical practice websites (15.2% vs 29.3%, P = .042). The mean (SD) JAMA scores for FESS and balloon sinuplasty sources were 1.59 (1.46) and 1.40 (1.46), respectively.

Conclusion

There is a high volume of online search queries regarding FESS and balloon sinuplasty. The quality of the sources could be improved by addressing authorship, attribution, disclosure, and currency. This information may help otolaryngologists better address patient queries.

Keywords

sinus surgery balloon sinuplasty chronic rhinosinusitis Internet machine learning information quality Google analytics

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Pleis

Lucas

. Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2007. Vital Health Stat 10. 2009;(240):1-159.

Fox

. The social life of health information. Pew Research Center. Published January 15, 2014. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/15/the-social-life-of-health-information/

Yeung

Brandt

Franklin

Doyle

Rotenberg

Kilty

. Preoperative concerns of patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2014;4(8):658-662.

Vennik

Eyles

Thomas

, et al. Chronic rhinosinusitis: a qualitative study of patient views and experiences of current management in primary and secondary care. BMJ Open. 2019;9(4):e022644.

Fassas

Krane

Zonner

Sykes

Kriet

Humphrey

. Google search analysis: what do people want to know about rhinoplasty and where do they find the answers [published online September 29, 2021]? Facial Plast Surg Aesthet Med.

Search Engine Market Share Worldwide June 2020–June 2021. Statcounter GlobalStats. Published June 2021. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share

Shen

Driscoll

Islam

Bovonratwet

Haas

. Modern Internet search analytics and total joint arthroplasty: what are patients asking and reading online? J Arthroplasty. 2021;36(4):1224-1231.

Rothwell

. In Mixed Company: Communicating in Small Groups. 8th ed. Wadsworth; 2012.

Kanthawala

Vermeesch

Given

Huh

. Answers to health questions: Internet search results versus online health community responses. J Med Internet Res. 2016;18(4):e95.

10.

Hardwick

On-page SEO: complete beginner’s guide. Ahrefs. Published February 9, 2021. Accessed February 20, 2021. https://ahrefs.com/blog/on-page-seo/#optimizing-content

11.

López-Jornet

Camacho-Alonso

. The quality of Internet sites providing information relating to oral cancer. Oral Oncol. 2009;45(9):e95-e98.

12.

Starman

Gettys

Capo

Fleischli

Norton

Karunakar

. Quality and content of Internet-based information for ten common orthopaedic sports medicine diagnoses. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2010;92(7):1612-1618.

13.

Silberg

. Assessing, controlling, and assuring the quality of medical information on the Internet: caveant lector et viewor—let the reader and viewer beware. JAMA. 1997;277(15):1244.

14.

Rubel

Alwani

Nwosu

, et al. Understandability and actionability of audiovisual patient education materials on sinusitis. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2020;10(4):564-571.

15.

Cherla

Sanghvi

Choudhry

Liu

Eloy

. Readability assessment of Internet-based patient education materials related to endoscopic sinus surgery. Laryngoscope. 2012;122(8):1649-1654.

16.

Lee

Vescan

Lee

. Evaluating YouTube as a source of patient information for functional endoscopic sinus surgery [published online October 6, 2020]. Ear Nose Throat J.

17.

Habeeb

. How readable and reliable is online patient information on chronic rhinosinusitis? J Laryngol Otol. 2021;135(7):644-647.

18.

Uyesugi

Moldowan

Bradbrook

Schuman

. Sinus surgery: analysis of videos available online. Allergy Rhinol. 2021;12:215265672199342.

19.

Halderman

Stokken

Momin

Smith

Sindwani

. Attitudes on and usage of balloon catheter technology in rhinology: a survey of the American Rhinologic Society. Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2015;29(5):389-393.

20.

Lee

DelGaudio

Orlandi

. Practice patterns in office-based rhinology: survey of the American Rhinologic Society. Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2019;33(1):26-35.

21.

Taylor

. How people search: understanding user intent. Search Engine Journal. Published January 14, 2018. Accessed February 20, 2021. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101/how-people-search/#close

22.

Cassidy

Baker

. Orthopaedic patient information on the World Wide Web: an essential review. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2016;98(4):325-338.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.09 MB