The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

eorgia Veterinary Scholars Program

GVSP Summer 2007 Scholars

Georgia Veterinary Scholar

Faculty Mentor

Victoria Watson
Tuskegee University
Class of 2009

Dr. Erik Hofmeister

The Internet and Anesthesia: Validity and Use of Web Information

Victoria Watson BS*, Erik H Hofmeister DVM DACVA
Department of Small Animal Medicine, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA

Abstract

This project will determine the validity of the information found on the internet concerning anesthesia warnings for dogs. In addition, a group of pet owners visiting the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the University of Georgia will be included in a questionnaire regarding their use of the internet for medical research with an emphasis on anesthesia.

The initial search terms using “anesthesia warning dog” will be used. The AKC breeds will then be separated into their breed groups and 30% of each group will be selected randomly. For breed searches, the terms “anesthesia” and the breed will be used. For the general search, the first 100 sites garnered in each of Google, Yahoo, and Altavista will be assessed for their content. For the breed specific search, the first 20 sites that give anesthesia information will be assessed for their content. Each site is separated into those with warnings and those without; the sites with warnings are then categorized based on the warning given. Each site that has anesthesia as the main topic will be assessed by two independent anesthesiologists to ascertain their quality.

Preliminary results to date consist of the general search of the internet resulting in 48 out of 100 sites with information regarding anesthesia. Of those 48, 70.8% of the web sites had some form of warning or caution. Of these warnings, 44% were general non specific warnings. The internet searches with the AKC breeds are in progress.