Gynaecology on the Net: evaluation of the information on hysterectomy contained in health-related web sites.

The popularity of the Internet is expanding rapidly and the number of patients accessing health-related web sites before a clinical consultation is increasing every day. Using popular Internet search engines we retrieved 26 health-related web sites containing patient information on hysterectomy. The web sites underwent a general evaluation on the base of principles of conduct suggested in the literature. The accuracy of the information was then compared with the one provided in the information leaflet produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. There were only a few cases identified of misleading contents and, in general, the information was found to be accurate but rarely comprehensive. Poor adherence to some basic principles of conduct was also noticed.