Quality-related variables at hepatological websites

Abstract Background. The amount of hepatology-related information available on the Internet has substantially increased, but little is known about the characteristics and quality of the websites. Aim. The aim of this study was to describe analytically and evaluate critically the information concerning three diseases of hepatological interest: chronic hepatitis, hemochromatosis and Caroli’s disease. Methods. In accordance with a validated method, the three search terms were entered into four English language search engines and the first five links of each were considered (a total of 60 sites). The characteristics of the websites were described and their quality was evaluated by three indepen…