Affiliation:
1. Department of General Surgery, Royal United Hospital Bath
Abstract
The availability of medical information on the World Wide Web has grown as information technology has become more accessible. Patients seeking online information may be able to self-select conditions having been adequately informed. This study evaluates the effect of eHealth information on those presenting to hospital with a suspected appendicitis and its effect on their management and clinical outcome. Patients who had performed online reading were more likely to go to theatre but were less likely to have a confirmed histological diagnosis of appendicitis.