Objective: To analyze the quality of health information on the Internet on hemorrhoids across 5 Western languages and perform a comparative analysis of website sponsors. Summary of background data: Hemorrhoids are a common condition affecting the hemorrhoid cushions of the anal canal. Many treatment options are available. Information on the Internet on hemorrhoids is considered variable, but there is little data analysis to support this. The World Health Organization's Health On the Net (HON) accredits medical and health websites based on a code of conduct and publishes a toolbar that aids identification of such accredited websites. Methods: Using the Google search engine (http://www.google.com, Google, Mountain View, California), searches were performed using 11 keywords related to hemorrhoids in
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.