XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
 Latest Research
 Cancer
 Psychiatry
 Genetics
 Surgery
 Aging
 Ophthalmology
 Gynaecology
 Neurosciences
 Pharmacology
 Cardiology
 Obstetrics
 Infectious Diseases
 Respiratory Medicine
 Pathology
 Endocrinology
 Immunology
 Nephrology
 Gastroenterology
 Biotechnology
 Radiology
 Dermatology
 Microbiology
 Haematology
 Dental
 ENT
 Environment
 Embryology
 Orthopedics
 Metabolism
 Anaethesia
 Paediatrics
 Public Health
 Urology
 Musculoskeletal
 Clinical Trials
 Physiology
 Biochemistry
 Cytology
 Traumatology
 Rheumatology
 
 Medical News
 Health
 Opinion
 Healthcare
 Professionals
 Launch
 Awards & Prizes
 
 Careers
 Medical
 Nursing
 Dental
 
 Special Topics
 Euthanasia
 Ethics
 Evolution
 Odd Medical News
 Feature
 
 World News
 Tsunami
 Epidemics
 Climate
 Business
Search

Last Updated: Nov 12th, 2006 - 18:11:20

Medical News Channel
subscribe to Medical News newsletter

Medical News

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Google could help diagnose difficult medical cases
Nov 12, 2006, 18:02, Reviewed by: Dr. Priya Saxena

However, they stressed that the efficiency of the search and the usefulness of the retrieved information depend on the searchers' knowledge base.

 
Internet search engine Google could help physicians facing problems in diagnosing difficult cases, says a new study.

Doctors have been estimated to carry two million facts in their heads to help them diagnose illness, but with medical knowledge expanding rapidly, even this may not be enough. Google is the most popular search engine on the world wide web, giving users quick access to more than three billion medical articles.

Doctors at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, identified 26 difficult diagnostic cases published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005. They included conditions such as Cushing's syndrome - a hormonal disorder, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - a fatal brain disorder.

They selected three-to-five search terms from each case and did a Google search while being blind to the correct diagnoses, reported Newswise wire.

They then selected and recorded the three diagnoses that were ranked most prominently and seemed to fit the symptoms and signs, and compared the results with the correct diagnoses as published in the journal.

Google searches found the correct diagnosis in 15 (58 percent) of the cases, said the study published in the online edition of the British Medical Journal.

The researchers suggested that Google could be a useful aid for conditions with unique symptoms and signs that can easily be used as search terms.

However, they stressed that the efficiency of the search and the usefulness of the retrieved information depend on the searchers' knowledge base.

Doctors and patients are increasingly using the Internet to search for health related information, and useful information on the rarest of medical syndromes can now be found within a matter of minutes, said the study.

'Our study suggests that in difficult diagnostic cases, it is often useful to google for a diagnosis.'
 

- Indo Asian News Service
 

 
Subscribe to Medical News Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 



Related Medical News News

Google could help diagnose difficult medical cases
Overseas Doctors hit by new British HSMP immigration rules
Mental health problems threaten the knowledge economy
Indians among worst affected by TB in Britain
Bihar to get eight new private medical colleges
Future of sexual and reproductive health at tipping point according to global study
Profiles of serial killers have limitations
Concerns over abortion law in the US state of South Dakota
European Alcohol Strategy Threatened by Industry Tactics
Raine Study: Breastfeeding boosts mental health


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us