title: The internet as a source of information for De Quervain's tendinitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many individuals are turning to the Internet for information about various health conditions, and in our study we evaluated the quality and readability of information on the internet about De Quervain's tendinitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We chose the search terms "De Quervain's Tendinitis," "De Quervain's Tenosynovitis," and "De Quervain's Syndrome," and entered them into the search engines "Google," "Bing," and "Yahoo" and compiled the search results. The websites were then evaluated and assigned a quality score, a Flesch-Kincaid (FK) reading level, and a subjective quality score. They were then grouped according to the search term used, search engine used, and the order (priority) returned by the search engines. ANOVA analysis and pairwise comparisons of quality and readability among groups, as well as correlation analysis were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The FK readability average was 10.3, above the recommended level. The search term De Quervain's tenosynovitis returned the highest objective quality results. There was no statistical difference found between the different search engines. The first 10 results from the searches were of higher quality than results 11-20, and there was a positive correlation between objective and subjective quality scores but no correlation between readability and objective quality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We concluded that quality information about De Quervain's tendinitis is available on the internet and is most likely to be found using the search term De Quervain's tenosynovitis and in the first 10 results of an internet search. However, most information is written above the recommended 6th grade reading level.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, University of Arizona, 1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson, AZ 85724 USA ; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arizona Medical Center, 1609 N. Warren Avenue, Suite 110, Tucson, AZ 85724-5064 USA.
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Heap
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arizona Medical Center, 1609 N. Warren Avenue, Suite 110, Tucson, AZ 85724-5064 USA.
authors.forename: Bobby
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dezfuli
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arizona Medical Center, 1609 N. Warren Avenue, Suite 110, Tucson, AZ 85724-5064 USA.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arizona Medical Center, 1609 N. Warren Avenue, Suite 110, Tucson, AZ 85724-5064 USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arizona Medical Center, 1609 N. Warren Avenue, Suite 110, Tucson, AZ 85724-5064 USA.
authors.forename: Gregory L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: DeSilva
keywords: De Quervain’s tenosynovitis; Internet; Reading level