title: Computer-assisted total knee arthroplasty marketing and patient education: an evaluation of quality, content and accuracy of related websites.
abstract: The internet is increasingly being used as a resource for health-related information by the general public. We sought to establish the authorship, content and accuracy of the information available online regarding computer-assisted total knee arthroplasty (CA-TKA).
  
  
  
  One hundred fifty search results from three leading search engines available online (Google, Yahoo!, Bing) from ten different countries worldwide were reviewed.
  
  
  
  While private physicians/groups authored 50.7 % of the websites, only 17.3 % were authored by a hospital/university. As compared to traditional TKA, 59.3 % of the websites claimed that navigated TKA offers better longevity, 46.6 % claimed accelerated recovery and 26 % claimed fewer complications. Only 11.3 % mentioned the prolonged operating room time required, and only 15.3 % noted the current lack of long-term evidence in support of this technology.
  
  
  
  Patients seeking information regarding CA-TKA through the major search engines are likely to encounter websites presenting a narrow, unscientific, viewpoint of the present technology, putting emphasis on unsubstantiated benefits while disregarding potential drawbacks.
  
  
  
  Survey of Materials-Internet.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 5 E 98 St, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Shai S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Shemesh
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 5 E 98 St, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bronson
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 5 E 98 St, New York, NY, 10029, USA. calin.moucha@mountsinai.org.
authors.forename: Calin S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Moucha
mesh_terms: D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000592:standards*; D040541:Marketing; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D057386:Search Engine
keywords: Computer-assisted; Internet; Online information; Patient education; Total knee arthroplasty