The Baidu Index is a big data sharing platform constructed by Baidu’s massive users’ behavior information. Here, you can find out the search trends of selected keywords, gain insight into the changes of netizens’ demand, monitor the trends of media public opinion, and locate user characteristics. The Baidu Index is updated daily, providing a PC search index at any time since June 2006 and a mobile wireless search index since January 2011. The Baidu Index represents a normalized search volume for selected keywords, instead of the absolute search volume. Other than that, each online query returns a demand graph, a demographic and geographic distribution. Up to five keywords can be simultaneously compared on a single or multiple charts. More details about the Baidu Index are shown at http://index.baidu.com/Helper/?tpl=helpandword=#pdesc.
To examine the internet users’ attention to kidney stones, we queried the Baidu Index (http://index.baidu.com) using the Chinese search term “kidney stones” within mainland China from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2018. For the term “kidney stones” online search trend data was gathered. For concrete surgical treatment procedures, the medical term “extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL)” was analyzed. This search queries were then compared through the Baidu Index to the terminology “kidney stone surgery”. Related search trend data were collected and then studied to evaluate changes of population interest in search queries over time. “Percutaneous nephrolithotomy” and “ureteroscopy lithotripsy” were not included in the Baidu Index keywords database due to the low search volume.