Public Online Search Behavior for Pediatric Urology Conditions: A Google Trends Infodemiology Analysis of Symptom Awareness versus Treatment-seeking Interest across Four Entities (2004–2024)
Bitesh Kumar, Anjan Kumar Dhua, Vishesh Jain, Devendra Kumar Yadav, Sandeep Agarwala, Prabudh Goel
A
BSTRACT
Background:
Pelviureteric junction obstruction (PUJO), vesicoureteric reflux (VUR), hypospadias, and undescended testis (UDT) (cryptorchidism) are among the most commonly encountered conditions in pediatric urology practice. However, caregiver online health-seeking behavior for these conditions remains poorly characterized.
Objective:
To compare symptom-seeking versus treatment-seeking online search behavior for these four conditions globally (2004–2024) and assess the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Study Design:
Retrospective infodemiology study using Google Trends relative search volume data.
Methods:
Google Trends were queried globally at monthly resolution for 2004–2024. For each condition, 10 search terms – selected using prespecified criteria of clinical plausibility, lay vocabulary fidelity, and nonredundancy – were divided into symptom-seeking and treatment-seeking groups. A shared anchor term enabled cross-group normalization to yield a monthly symptom-to-treatment (S: T) ratio. Spearman correlation assessed temporal trends; the Kruskal–Wallis test with Bonferroni correction evaluated inter-entity differences.
Results:
Hypospadias showed the highest treatment-seeking volume and the lowest S: T ratio (0.003 ± 0.027), indicating persistent treatment-dominant searching throughout. UDT demonstrated a significant increasing S: T trend (
Conclusions:
Significant differences exist in online caregiver health-seeking behavior across the four most common pediatric urological conditions, identifying condition-specific gaps in digital health literacy and targets for focused caregiver education.