Reliability of YouTube videos in vitreoretinal surgery

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:To investigate the reliability and quality of vitreoretinal surgery videos posted on YouTube. PATIENTS AND METHODS:A search was made using the keywords “vitrectomy,” “retinal surgery,” and “vitreoretinal surgery” on YouTube. Total view counts, numbers of comments, likes and dislikes, publishing dates, and source of videos were recorded. Educational quality and accuracy of the video content were evaluated using the DISCERN score, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) scoring system, and Global Quality Scores (GQS). RESULTS:There were 208 videos included in the study; 152 (73.1%) videos were uploaded by doctors and 56 (26.9%) videos uploaded by non-doctors. Mean DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores were 37.65 ± 10.49 (20–69), 0.82 ± 0.52 (0–4), 2.86 ± 0.86 (1–5), respectively. CONCLUSIONS:Vitreoretinal surgery videos on YouTube were of low quality and reliability. Those who want to use YouTube videos as a reference for vitreoretinal surgery should pay extra attention to selection of content.