Search engine as a diagnostic tool in difficult immunological and allergologic cases: is Google useful?

Abstract

Background: Web search engines are an important tool in communication

Consulting the internet: Using online search engines and its impact on the practice of Medicine in the 21st century

“…However, it did find that "searches are less likely to be successful in complex diseases with non-specific symptoms, or common diseases with rare presentations. Similarly, 2009 saw Lombardi et al prove that Google was useful in identifying appropriate diagnoses in complex immunological and allergic cases, with their three investigators making an average of 72.6% correct diagnoses (12), further reinforcing the notion that Google could potentially be a reliable source.…”

“…Here lies the distinction between the medically-trained professional and a non-physicianthe use of the Internet as a diagnostic tool can be a doubleedged sword, assisting the physician in making decisions, but also arming the patients and their families with unwarranted worry. In addition, as Lombardi et al pointed out, the effectiveness of an internet search can be attributed to several variables, including internet skills, computer skills, and the researcher's ability to solve clinical problems (12).…”

Access of primary and secondary literature by health personnel in an academic health center: implications for open access

“…For example, in 2011 UpToDate was accessed more than 100,000 times, whereas Clin-eGuide, Clinical Evidence, and Five-Minute Clinical Consult were only accessed approximately 2,000 times combined. Traffic to the Google and Google Scholar search tools via the Lane Library was also initially selected for review, because of the general popularity of these resources [36]. However, traftic reported through the Ubrary web logs for these 2 resources was minimal; it accounted for less than 2% of total visits and clicks to primary literature.…”

Computer-Based Diagnostic Expert Systems in Rheumatology: Where Do We Stand in 2014?

“…The expert system was incorporated in the medical information system of the respective clinic [30]. For the lack of accessibility of diagnostic support, the universally present search engines for the World Wide Web have become a popular alternative with an astonishing accuracy as shown by Tang and Ng [62] and Lombardi et al [63]. …”