RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: The internet has become a fundamental source of medical information for patients, however, little is known about the quality of patient information regarding the management of gallstone disease (GD). METHODS: A systematic review of information on GD in the internet was performed. The top 100 websites for every different search term and search engine were assessed using the validated EQIP tool (Score 0-36). RESULTS: A total of 2000 websites were identified and 212 (11%) were eligible for analysis. The overall median EQIP score of all websites was 15 (IQR 13-18). Of all websites, 63% originated from North America however, these represented the lowest median EQIP score of 15. Only 41% of the websites differentiated between clinical presentations and 19% provided emergency information. Only 3% of the websites reported complication rates, ranging from 3 to 36%. CONCLUSION: This is a comprehensive assessment of online patient information on GD using the EQIP tool. The assessment of the quality of websites concerning GD by the EQIP tool indicates that the majority of sites were of low-quality information. There is an immediate need for better informative and educational websites regarding GD that are compatible with international quality standards.
