Is current information available useful for patients and their families?

Internet has recently evolved as a versatile and influential repository of information including those pertaining to neurosurgery. This study was undertaken to find out whether there is good quality information currently available on the Internet for neurosurgery patients and their families. We surveyed the World Wide Web (www) for information on 5 neurosurgery-terms: pallidotomy, lumbar discectomy, hydrocephlus, glioma and carotid artery aneurysm. We searched the www using Google search-engine for documents related to each of the above terms and then assessed the information contained in the first 30-hits for each term using a simple 4-point grading system. Our study suggests that there is generally a good quantity of good quality information on the Internet for neurosurgery patients and their families. Internet provides an opportunity for patient associations and professional bodies to collaborate to create useful databases to help neurosurgery patients and their relatives.