YouTube for information about side effects of biologic therapy: A social media analysis.

OBJECTIVE

Biologic therapies are one of the most significant breakthroughs in the treatment of rheumatic diseases, although there is still some uncertainty surrounding long-term patient safety. Recently, a growing number of patients browse the Internet as a source of health-related information. We aimed to assess the quality of information available on YouTube videos regarding the side effects of biologic therapy.

METHODS

We used the keywords "biologic therapy side effects," "biologic therapy risks," "biologic therapy safety," "biologic agents side effects," "biologic agents risks," and "biologic agents safety." Also, the generic and commercial names of biologic agents were searched on YouTube in May 2020. The quality and reliability of the videos was assessed according to the global quality score (GQS), DISCERN score. Video Power Index (VPI) used to assess both the view and the like ratios of the videos.

RESULTS

Seventy-five videos were evaluated. According to the GQS, 31 videos (40.3%) were of high quality, 18 videos (23.4%) were of intermediate quality, and 28 videos (36.4%) were of low quality. The GQS was significantly positively correlated with the DISCERN score (P < .001). VPI scores were not correlated with DISCERN (P = .268) and GQS scores (P = .411).

CONCLUSION

YouTube videos on the side effects of biologic therapy are informative for patients and physicians. High-quality videos are more reliable but may not be as popular as expected.