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. 2024 Jan 24;12(1):23259671231219014.
doi: 10.1177/23259671231219014. eCollection 2024 Jan.

What Do Patients Encounter When Searching Online About Meniscal Surgery? An Analysis of Internet Trends

Michael A Gaudiani  1 , Joshua P Castle  1 , Matthew A Gasparro  1 , Eleftherios L Halkias  2 , Andranig Adjemian  2 , Anna McGee  1 , Jonathan Fife  1 , Vasilios Moutzouros  1 , T Sean Lynch  1
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What Do Patients Encounter When Searching Online About Meniscal Surgery? An Analysis of Internet Trends

Michael A Gaudiani et al. Orthop J Sports Med. .

Abstract

Background: Many patients use the internet to learn about their orthopaedic conditions and find answers to their common questions. However, the sources and quality of information available to patients regarding meniscal surgery have not been fully evaluated.

Purpose: To determine the most frequently searched questions associated with meniscal surgery based on question type and topic, as well as to assess the website source type and quality.

Study design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: The following search terms were entered into a web search (www.google.com) using a clean-install browser: "meniscal tear,""meniscus repair,""meniscectomy,""knee scope,""meniscus surgery," and "knee arthroscopy." The Rothwell classification system was used to categorize questions and sort them into 1 of 13 topics relevant to meniscal surgery. Websites were also categorized by source into groups. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria (medians and interquartile ranges [IQRs]) were used to measure website quality.

Results: A total of 337 unique questions associated with 234 websites were extracted and categorized. The most popular questions were "What is the fastest way to recover from meniscus surgery?" and "What happens if a meniscus tear is left untreated?" Academic websites were associated more commonly with diagnosis questions (41.9%, P < .01). Commercial websites were associated more commonly with cost (71.4%, P = .03) and management (47.6%, P = .02). Government websites addressed a higher proportion of questions regarding timeline of recovery (22.2%, P < .01). Websites associated with medical practices were associated more commonly with risks/complications (43.8%, P = .01) while websites associated with single surgeons were associated more commonly with pain (19.4%, P = .03). Commercial and academic websites had the highest median JAMA benchmark scores (4 [IQR, 3-4] and 3 [IQR, 2-4], respectively) while websites associated with a single surgeon or categorized as "other" had the lowest scores (1 [IQR 1-2] and 1 [IQR 1-1.5], respectively).

Conclusion: Our study found that the most common questions regarding meniscal surgery were associated with diagnosis of meniscal injury, followed by activities and restrictions after meniscal surgery. Academic websites were associated significantly with diagnosis questions. The highest quality websites were commercial and academic websites.

Keywords: internet search; meniscal repair; meniscectomy; meniscus.

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Conflict of interest statement

One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: M.A.G. has received education payments from Pinnacle. J.P.C. has received education payments from Pinnacle. V.M. has received education payments from Pinnacle and Arthrex, consulting fees from Pacira Pharmaceuticals, and hospitality payments from Stryker and Smith & Nephew. T.S.L. has received education payments from Gotham Surgical Solutions & Devices, consulting fees from Smith & Nephew and KCI, and nonconsulting fees from Smith & Nephew, Arthrex, and Linvatec. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto. Ethical approval was not sought for the present study.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Relative distribution of questions by (A) Rothwell classification and (B) meniscal surgery topic.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
(A) Relative distribution of websites by category. (B) The percentage of questions in each website category. Statistically significant difference compared with the other categories: *P < .05, **P < .01, ***P < .001 (Pearson chi-square test).
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