Interest on the internet for systemic lupus erythematosus: Analysis of Google Trends in Latin American countries

摘要

Background/Objective Information available on the internet about Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) can influence the doctor-patient relationship. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the terms used for SLE on the internet. Methods We analyzed the data downloaded from Google Trends, considering the term “Lupus” in a six-year web-based research. The frequency of the terms for each Pan-American country was obtained automatically from Google Trends, which reports relative search volumes or RSV (on a scale from 0 to 100) across regions. Results We obtained a total of 67 registered terms in 18 countries. The terms were distributed into five categories. The categories with interest in all countries were “definition” and “symptoms”. Conclusions Google Trends allows us to find useful information about SLE on the internet; once the accuracy of this information is validated, it can be used by patients, health institutions, rheumatologists and other health professionals.