Aktar Ugurlu Gulay, Ugurlu Burak Numan
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology, Hitit University, Çorum, Turkey.
Department of Oto-laryngology, Private Clinic, Çorum, Turkey.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Feb 25;25(1):776. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21963-6.
The increasing use of online platforms as sources of medical information has led to a growing concern regarding the accuracy, reliability, and quality of the content available. YouTube, one of the most widely accessed platforms, serves as a prominent source for health-related information, including topics like tympanostomy tubes. However, the variability in the quality of uploaded videos and the lack of standardization raise questions about their utility for patient education and decision-making. This study aims to evaluate the quality and reliability of the information provided by YouTube videos about tympanostomy tubes along with some key metrics of the videos.
In this cross-sectional study, a search was conducted on YouTube on June 6, 2024, using the keywords tympanostomy tubes, ear tubes, ventilation tubes, myringotomy, and grommet insertion. A total of 68 videos with over 10,000 views that met the inclusion criteria were included. Video Power Index (VPI) and Global Quality Scale (GQS), Modified DISCERN and JAMA scores obtained by 2 independent otolaryngologists were statistically analysed.
Only 13.2% of the videos mentioned complications, and 39.7% addressed anesthesia techniques, with informative videos mentioning anesthesia techniques more frequently than surgical videos (P = 0.003). The average length of the videos was 223.3 ± 155.4 s, the average number of views was 153,884 ± 320,786, and the average VPI was 59.73 ± 93.19. The average quality scores for all videos were 2.81 ± 1.01 for GQS, 3 ± 1.43 for Modified DISCERN, and 2.75 ± 0.9 for JAMA, with the quality scores for informative videos being statistically significantly higher than for surgical videos (P < 0.001, P = 0.007, P = 0.010, respectively). The quality and reliability of the videos varied significantly depending on the uploader, with medical schools/universities and private hospitals generally providing higher quality content.
Our findings indicate that while YouTube can be an additional source of information about tympanostomy tubes, there are significant deficiencies in content quality. We believe that patients and their relatives should consider videos uploaded by professionals rather than relying on the number of views and likes when using YouTube as an information source.
在线平台日益成为医学信息的来源，这引发了人们对其提供内容的准确性、可靠性和质量的日益关注。YouTube是访问量最大的平台之一，是健康相关信息的重要来源，包括鼓膜置管等主题。然而，上传视频质量的差异以及缺乏标准化引发了关于其在患者教育和决策中的实用性的问题。本研究旨在评估YouTube上关于鼓膜置管视频所提供信息的质量和可靠性以及视频的一些关键指标。
在这项横断面研究中，于2024年6月6日在YouTube上进行搜索，使用关键词鼓膜置管、耳管、通气管、鼓膜切开术和鼓膜置管术。共纳入68个符合纳入标准且观看次数超过10000的视频。对2名独立的耳鼻喉科医生获得的视频功率指数（VPI）、全球质量量表（GQS）、改良的DISCERN评分和JAMA评分进行统计分析。
只有13.2%的视频提到了并发症，39.7%涉及麻醉技术，提供信息的视频比手术视频更频繁地提及麻醉技术（P = 0.003）。视频的平均时长为223.3±155.4秒，平均观看次数为153884±320786次，平均VPI为59.73±93.19。所有视频的平均质量评分GQS为2.81±1.01，改良的DISCERN评分为3±1.43，JAMA评分为2.75±0.9，提供信息的视频的质量评分在统计学上显著高于手术视频（分别为P < 0.001、P = 0.007、P = 0.010）。视频的质量和可靠性因上传者而异，医学院校/大学和私立医院通常提供质量更高的内容。
我们的研究结果表明，虽然YouTube可以作为关于鼓膜置管的额外信息来源，但内容质量存在重大缺陷。我们认为，患者及其亲属在将YouTube用作信息来源时，应考虑专业人士上传的视频，而不是依赖观看次数和点赞数。
