Australian researchers found that Google identified the correct diagnosis in 58% of uncommon medical cases, after entering a few of the symptoms from the 26 cases into the search engine, according to an online study from the British Medical Journal, the London Daily Express reports (Fletcher, London Daily Express, 11/10).
Researchers from the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, searched Google with three to five symptoms from each of 26 cases selected from the New England Journal of Medicine. Then they recorded three diagnoses and selected the one that seemed most plausible for the relevant symptoms. Their diagnoses were correct in 15 of the 26 cases, BBC News reports (BBC News, 11/10).
The medical conditions that the researchers successfully diagnosed included:
- Amyotrophy;
- Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease;
- Encephalitis; and
- Gastrointestinal bleeding (Hawkes, London Times, 11/10).
Research leader Dr. Hangwi Tang said Google could be a "useful aid" when physicians diagnose medical conditions with unusual symptoms. However, researchers said successful searches required a "human expert," which means patients probably would be less successful in identifying their own conditions.
Mayur Lakhani, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said, "The Internet is in no way a replacement for doctors - their clinical judgment and expertise will always be necessary to make sense of the information" (
BBC News, 11/10).