NETLINES

• The web is a wonderful repository of image collections, and a lovely example is the Trauma Imagebank (www.trauma.org/imagebank/imagebank.html). It is a well designed page with basic text filling most of the screen, but to the left are the images, in folders according to main subject headings. Click on a folder and the images appear on the right hand side of the screen. Some are clinical pictures, though radiology is well represented.

• A simple introductory screen leads to an excellent range of clinical practice guidelines at a site from the Royal Children's Hospital in Australia (www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/cpg.cfm). It covers a wide range of paediatric problems likely to face a junior doctor, though the guidelines could also be a revision resource for more senior doctors. The site has some good illustrations and a wide range of subjects. Even better, it has an in-house search engine, and you can view all the contents by clicking on “All.”

• When patients ask for more information about a clinical trial they are participating in, they may be overloaded with information or simply may not be able to understand it. One source of well written material is part of the substantial website of the UK based National Electronic Library for Health (www.nelh.nhs.uk/clinicaltrials/default.asp). This part of the website is aimed at patients—it is written in clear and understandable language and is broken into easily digestible subsections. It contains a glossary, and a version can be downloaded as a Word file.

• The management of postoperative pain can be a difficult issue, so there may be some help at the site of the Procedure Specific Postoperative Pain Management (Prospect) project (www.postoppain.org). The site currently features three common postoperative scenarios: laparoscopic cholecystectomy, total hip arthroplasty, and abdominal hysterectomy. Various sources of knowledge are brought together to provide practical support for health professionals managing such patients.

• Doctors are always on the lookout for good collections of guidelines, and one from Ontario is worthy of consideration (http://gacguidelines.ca/index.pl). Input from the local ministry of health and a medical association makes for an evidence based framework. The guidelines themselves cover a wide range of common everyday topics, including angina, back pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and preterm births. They are accessible through a simple scrolling index window, and a click takes you directly to the guideline.