YouTube as a patient-information source for hypothyroidism

Evaluation of YouTube As A Source For Graves' Disease Information: Is High-Quality Guideline-Based Information Available?

Objective

To understand the quality of informational Graves' disease (GD) videos on YouTube for treatment decision-making quality and inclusion of American Thyroid Association (ATA) treatment guidelines.

Study Design

Cross-sectional cohort.

Setting

Informational YouTube videos with subject matter "Graves' Disease treatment."

Method

The top 50 videos based on our query were assessed using the DISCERN instrument. This validated algorithm discretely rates treatment-related information from excellent (≥4.5) to very poor (<1.9). Videos were also screened for ATA guideline inclusion. Descriptive statistics were used for cohort characterization. Univariate and multivariate linear regressions characterized factors associated with DISCERN scores. Significance was set at P < .05.

Results

The videos featured 57,513.43 views (SD = 162,579.25), 1054.70 likes (SD = 2329.77), and 168.80 comments (SD = 292.97). Most were patient education (52%) or patient experience (24%). A minority (40%) were made by thyroid specialists (endocrinologists, endocrine surgeons, or otolaryngologists). Under half did not mention all 3 treatment modalities (44%), and 54% did not mention any ATA recommendations. Overall, videos displayed poor reliability (mean = 2.26, SD = 0.67), treatment information quality (mean = 2.29, SD = 0.75), and overall video quality (mean = 2.47, SD = 1.07). Physician videos were associated with lower likes, views, and comments (P < .001) but higher DISCERN reliability (P = .015) and overall score (P = .019). Longer videos (P = .015), patient accounts (P = .013), and patient experience (P = .002) were associated with lower scores.

Conclusion

The most available GD treatment content on YouTube varies significantly in the quality of medical information. This may contribute to suboptimal disease understanding, especially for patients highly engaged with online health information sources.

A Novel Approach: Evaluating ChatGPT's Utility for the Management of Thyroid Nodules

Background and objective Artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) created by OpenAI, which represent the revolutionary aspects of today's technology, have benefitted professionals in many fields and society at large. In this study, we aimed to assess how effective is ChatGPT in helping both the patient and the physician manage thyroid nodules, a very common pathology. Methods Fifty-five questions frequently asked by patients were identified and asked to ChatGPT. Subsequently, three cases of thyroid nodules were progressively presented to ChatGPT. The answers to patient questions were scored for correctness and reliability by two endocrinologists. As for the cases, diagnostic and therapeutic approaches provided by ChatGPT were analyzed and scored by two endocrinologists for correctness, safety, and usability. The responses were evaluated by using 7-point Likert-type scales designed by us. Results The answers to patient questions were found to be mostly correct and reliable by both raters (Rater #1: 6.47 ± 0.50 and 6.27 ± 0.52; Rater #2: 6.18 ± 0.92 and 6.09 ± 0.96). Regarding the management of cases, ChatGPT's approach was found to be largely correct, safe, and usable by Rater #1, while Rater #2 evaluated the approaches as partially or mostly correct, safe, and usable. Conclusion Based on our findings, ChatGPT can be used as an informative and reliable resource for managing patients with thyroid nodules. While it is not suitable to be used as a primary resource for physicians, it has the potential to be a helpful and supportive tool.

Quality analysis of YouTube videos about thyroid orbitopathy

PURPOSE

To evaluate the quality and reliability of YouTube videos about Thyroid Orbitopathy.

METHODS

A YouTube search was performed using the keyword 'Graves eye disease', 'thyroid eye disease', 'thyroid orbitopathy', 'thyroid ophtalmopathy' in the search bar of YouTube. The first 50 videos were analyzed for each keywords, and the first 100 videos that came out were included in the study. The numbers of views, likes, dislikes, comments, daily viewing rate (number of views per day), uploaded source, country of origin, video type (patient experience, scholarly information), and described treatment technique were evaluated for all videos. They were also evaluated regarding their DISCERN, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), global quality score (GQS) and usefulness score by two independent ophthalmologists.

RESULTS

Of the top 100 videos, 94 videos met the criteria. The mean DISCERN, JAMA, GQS and usefulness score were 55.27 ± 16.57, 3.04 ± 0.64, 3.44 ± 0.93 and 3.23 ± 1.1. If we look at the upload source 53 (56.4%) videos were uploaded by physicians, 30 (31.9%) videos by institutions/private health institutions, 7 (7.4%) videos by health channels, 4 (4.3%) videos by patients. All scoring systems showed a statistically significant and strong positive correlation with each other (p < 0.001). A statistically significant positive correlation between viewing rate, likes and comments was observed. As the duration of the video increased, a significant increase in the scores in other scores was observed.

CONCLUSION

We observed that the tests we used in the scoring were correlated with each other. Most of the thyroid orbitopathy videos on YouTube were of good quality. Ophthalmologists should guide their patients who want to get information on YouTube to watch videos uploaded by health care professionals.

Assessment of Video Quality and Reliability of YouTube Videos Regarding Meniscus Tear Rehabilitation

INTRODUCTION

YouTube is an open-source platform where creators can record and upload videos for others to see. As the popularity of YouTube increases, it is being increasingly used for healthcare-related information. However, with the relative ease of uploading videos, the content quality of individual videos is not regulated. This study aimed to assess and analyze the content quality of YouTube videos concerning meniscus tear rehabilitation. We hypothesized that most videos would be of low quality.

METHODS

The keywords "meniscus tear treatment," "meniscus tear recovery," "meniscus tear physical therapy," and "meniscus tear rehabilitation" were used for searching videos on YouTube. A total of 50 videos was analyzed in this study that related to meniscal rehabilitation, grouped into one of four categories: non-physician professionals (physical therapists and chiropractors) (n=28), physicians (with or without academic affiliation) (n=5), non-academic healthcare-related websites (n=10), and non-professional individuals (n=7). Videos were then assessed by two independent authors using three scoring systems, which included the Global Quality Scale (GQS), modified DISCERN, and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) scores. The number of likes, comments, video length, and views were collected for each video. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare quality scores and video analytics.

RESULTS

The overall median GQS, modified DISCERN, and JAMA scores were 3 (interquartile range (IQR): 2-3), 2 (IQR: 2-2), and 2 (IQR: 2-2), respectively. Sorted by GQS scores, 20 videos were of low quality (40%), 21 were intermediate (42%), and nine were of high quality (18%). Non-physician professionals produced 56% (28 of 50) of the videos assessed, with physical therapists constituting 86% (24 of 28) of this category. The median duration of each video was 6:54 (IQR: 3:59-10:50) minutes, views was 42,262 (IQR: 12,373-306,491), and likes was 877 (IQR: 239-4,850). Kruskal-Wallis testing showed a significant difference between JAMA scores, likes, and video length duration between video categories (p<0.028).

CONCLUSION

The overall median reliability of YouTube videos on meniscus tear rehabilitation measured by JAMA and modified DISCERN scores was low. The overall median video quality, as assessed by GQS scores, was intermediate. Video quality was highly variable, with fewer than 20% meeting high-quality standards. As a result, patients are often viewing lower quality videos when researching their condition online.

The quality and reliability analysis of YouTube videos about insulin resistance

AIM

There is an increasing trend in the use of internet as a search tool for health-related informations. Insulin resistance is one of the most searched subjects online and some of the videos about insulin resistance have been watched by millions of YouTube users. This study aims to determine the quality and reliability of the most popular videos about insulin resistance on YouTube.

METHODS

On March 1, 2022, the term "insulin resistance" was searched on YouTube. The videos' popularity was assessed with Video Power Index (VPI). The quality and reliability were assessed with DISCERN score, modified DISCERN score and global quality score (GQS).

RESULTS

A total of 100 most popular videos were evaluated after applying the exclusion criteria. Fifty-four percent of the videos were very poor-poor, 35 % moderate, and 11 % good-excellent quality. Although few in number, the videos with relatively higher quality and more reliable had higher numbers of views, likes and comments (p < 0.01). There was a positive correlation between DISCERN score and VPI, duration, view, like, dislike, comment numbers of the videos (p < 0.01). Healthcare providers uploaded 58 % of the videos, while independent users uploaded 42 %. Video like ratio (VLR) at healthcare providers' videos was significantly higher than independent users' videos (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the high viewing rates of YouTube videos about insulin resistance, the overall quality and reliability were found to be very low. However, when high quality content regarding popular medical topics is produced, more people can be informed correctly.