Evaluating YouTube videos on sialendoscopy as an educational resource for patients.

OBJECTIVES: Patients are increasingly relying on YouTube for health information. We objectively evaluated the quality and comprehensiveness of sialendoscopy YouTube videos available to patients. We further investigated the relationship between video content and video popularity.

METHODS: We identified 150 videos using the search term "sialendoscopy." Videos were excluded if they were lectures for medical professionals, operating room (OR) recordings, unrelated, non-English, or non-audio. Video quality and comprehensiveness were evaluated using modified DISCERN criterion (range: 5-25) and novel sialendoscopy criterion (NSC, range: 0-7), respectively. Secondary outcomes included standard video metrics and Video Power Index to measure popularity. Videos were classified binarily by uploader type as from an academic medical center or from other sources.

RESULTS: Twenty-two (14.7%) of 150 videos were included for review, with 7 (31.8%) uploaded from academic medical institutions. One hundred-nine (72.7%) videos were excluded as lectures for medical professionals or OR recordings. Overall mean modified DISCERN (13.45 ± 3.42) and NSC (3.05 ± 0.96) scores were low; however, videos uploaded by academic medical institutions were significantly more comprehensive (NSC mean difference = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.16-1.80, p  = .02). There were no significant correlations between video popularity and objective measures of quality or comprehensiveness.

CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the paucity and low quality of sialendoscopy videos for patients. More popular videos are not higher quality, and most videos are targeted more toward physicians rather than patients. As YouTube becomes increasingly used by patients, there is opportunity for otolaryngologists to produce more informative videos for patients while implementing targeted strategies to increase viewership.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: NA.