Public Interest in Textured Breast Implants Recall: A Google Trends Analysis

Background Large-scale media coverage of health care outcomes can have a profound influence on health care utilization by the general population. Google trends (GT), an online resource, allows for tracking of global search volumes as a proxy for determining public interest. Objective To utilize GT to characterize measurable effects on public interest in breast implant removal procedures and breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) following March 2019 FDA Advisory Committee Meeting and July 2019 public statements by the FDA and Allergan announcing the voluntary recall of BIOCELL(R) textured breast implants. Methods GT databases of search volumes were collected for terms related to 3 categories including Allergan BIOCELL(R) textured breast implants, BIA-ALCL, and breast implant removal from January 2004 to October 2019. The short-term and long-term interests were determined by the percent change in monthly search volumes with respect to the announcements from Allergan and FDA Advisory Committee Meeting. Results Following Allergan's recall announcement, public interest in "textured breast implants" and "allergan breast implant" peaked in July 2019 and rose 456% and 669%, respectively. Public interest in "anaplastic large cell lymphoma breast implant" and "ALCL cancer" rose 200 and 175%, respectively. Long-term interest in all implant removal terms was found to be higher after March 2019 FDA Advisory Committee Meeting than beforehand (p < 0.05). Conclusions GT data correlate with shifts in real-world health care utilization and public interest caused by high-profile media coverage, making it a useful tool for providers for real-time prediction of trends in public health in response to observable influences.