Reliability of YouTube Videos in Vitreoretinal Surgery

Is YouTube a reliable tool for approaching robotic assisted transabdominal preperitoneal surgery? A critical review of the available resources

INTRODUCTION

The robotic transabdominal preperitoneal approach (rTAPP) is a relatively recent technique for the treatment of inguinal hernia. To achieve optimal results, the 10 golden rules described must be followed. Surgeons in training often review videos to familiarize themselves with new techniques, YouTube being one of the most used platforms. The objective of this study is to carry out an evaluation of the 10 most viewed videos on YouTube of inguinal hernia repair by transabdominal preperitoneal approach (rTAPP) to determine if the 10 golden rules are met.

METHODS

Identify and evaluate the 10 videos with the highest number of views related to rTAPP. Three experienced Surgeons evaluated compliance with the 10 golden rules using a Likert scale. Data were analyzed in Excel (Microsoft) and plotted with Tableau (Tableau Inc). The consistency between evaluators was determined using Cronbach's alpha, considering a value >0.7 acceptable.

RESULTS

The average overall evaluation was 3.63 with a range of 2.6 to 4.9. The scores related to compliance with the rules 1, 2, 9, 10 were satisfactory; on the other hand, rules 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 were weak, particularly rule number 7. Internal consistency was observed between raters with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.98.

CONCLUSIONS

The lack of compliance with the 10 golden rules in most of the videos demonstrates that the use of videos (YouTube) is not an adequate resource for learning robot-assisted inguinal hernia cure.

Exercises for fibromyalgia syndrome: what YouTube tells us as a source of information for patient and physician education

OBJECTIVE

YouTube, a popular worldwide source to access health information online, may have an impact in enhancing exercise therapy for fibromyalgia patients. This study is aimed to investigate the quality and reliability of exercise videos prepared for fibromyalgia syndrome on YouTube.

METHODS

A thorough search on YouTube using six search terms related to fibromyalgia treatment and exercise was conducted. The videos with content on exercises for fibromyalgia, acceptable audio-video quality, and are in English language were included, whereas duplicates were excluded from the analysis. Quality was determined using the Global Quality Scale (GQS) and JAMA system, and reliability using the mDISCERN criteria.

RESULTS

Out of a total of 600 videos, 70 videos that met the inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. Physicians were found to produce content mostly in high and medium quality (%70.2), other medical professionals mostly in low and medium quality (93.8%), while non-medical users mostly in low quality (86.7%). Ninety percent of the videos targeted patients, while 10% targeted healthcare professionals as an audience, and the majority (93.7%) of videos targeting patients were of low and medium quality, as most (85.7%) of the videos targeting healthcare professionals were of high quality.

CONCLUSION

YouTube can be used as a tool to increase exercise adherence in fibromyalgia patients, as it offers a wide range of content that is easily accessible and useful at times. To implement this tool, physicians need to upload more content online as they stand for pioneers of high-quality information dissemination on the internet. KeyPoints • This research emphasizes the need for high-quality online healthcare information which is accessed by a vast number of individuals and the implementations that effectively address and prevent the spread of misinformation. • Additionally, it presents suggestions for the future regarding the uploading of such content on the internet. • Physicians hold the key responsibility in ensuring the availability of high-quality online health content, thereby carrying significant implications for its overall impact.

Analysis of the quality and reliability of trifocal intraocular lens videos on YouTube

OBJECTIVE

This study analyzed the quality and reliability of videos on YouTube as educational resources on trifocal intraocular lenses (IOL).

METHODS

This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional and record-based study. An online YouTube search was performed using the terms "trifocal lens implants" and "trifocal IOL," and a total of 229 videos were recorded. Eighty-six videos that met the study criteria were included. All videos were evaluated with DISCERN, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and Global Quality Score (GQS) scores.

RESULTS

The mean DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores were 37.79±11.92, 2.01±0.87, and 2.17±1.01, respectively. Of all the videos, 39 (45%) were uploaded by physicians, and 47 (55%) were uploaded by non-physicians. While the length of the videos (length) was significantly greater in the physician group (P=0.02), the age of the videos (age) was significantly higher in the non-physician group (P=0.02). However, the differences between the two groups in terms of other general characteristics, DISCERN, JAMA and GQS scores were not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Our finding suggests that trifocal IOL-related YouTube™ videos are of low quality and reliability, thus inadequate for patient information.

YouTube as a source of patient information for pterygium surgery

Background

Patients use the YouTube platform to get information about pterygium surgery, and this affects the treatment decisions of the patients.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to analyze the quality and reliability of YouTube videos as educational resources about pterygium surgery.

Design

This is a register-based retrospective study.

Methods

This was a retrospective, record-based study. A YouTube search was performed using the terms 'pterygium surgery' and 'pterygium eye surgery', resulting in the evaluation of a total of 200 videos. In the end, 122 English-language videos about pterygium surgery were recruited to study. All videos were rated with the DISCERN, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and the Global Quality Score (GQS) systems.

Results

The mean DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS values were 38.9 ± 10.9, 1.8 ± 0.8, and 2.2 ± 1, respectively. The YouTube videos about pterygium surgery had been uploaded by a physician in 63 (51.6%) and non-physicians in 59 (48.4%) cases. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of general characteristics and scores.

Conclusions

Our results show that YouTube videos about pterygium surgery have low quality and credibility and are not sufficient in terms of providing patient information.

Registration

Not applicable.

Evaluation of quality and utility of YouTube vitreoretinal surgical videos

Background

We evaluated the utility and quality of surgical videos posted on the main retinal YouTube channels by surgeons at different career stages and assessed how well the steps of the vitrectomy videos conformed to the parameters in the Casey Eye Institute Vitrectomy Indices Tool for Skills assessment (CEIVITS) scale.

Methods

Forty-five videos were included from nine retinal YouTube channels posted from 2011 to 2021. For each surgeon, 10 videos were randomized and the utility, quality, and educational content were assessed. For each video, the surgeons also assessed how the validated CEIVITS items were presented in the videos. The surgeons were divided based on years of experience: fellows (0–3 years), young surgeons (4–10 years), and senior surgeons (more than 10 years).

Results

The video image quality was rated as good in 63.52% of evaluations, moderate in 30.37%, and poor in 6.11%. The quality assessment of the videos among the groups did not differ. The fellows rated the use of the videos as educational tools higher (3.99) than the young (3.87) and senior surgeons (3.47) (p  < 0.0002, Kruskal–Wallis test); 34.76% of the fellows reported learning something new from the videos compared with 19.17% of the senior surgeons (p  < 0.05). The CEIVITS scale item that was seen more frequently was related to core vitrectomies (72.29%) and the least represented was about checking infusion lines (80.17%).

Conclusions

Vitreoretinal surgical videos are useful educational tools during all stages of surgeons’ careers, and the evaluation of the quality of the images did not differ significantly among the groups, however, surgeons with expertise shorter than 10 years report significantly greater use of videos than experienced surgeons. Videos posted to the public domain on different social media, most often YouTube, are widespread and unregulated for providing complimentary surgical education. Retinal societies should formulate guidelines and improve the educational value of the surgical videos posted on the Internet.

Trial Registration The Federal University of São Paulo institution’s Research Ethics Committee reviewed and approved this study protocol (Approval Number, 4.726.589).

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40942-022-00360-w.