YouTube and Prolactinoma: Assessing the Impact on Patient Knowledge

Purpose With the increasing access to the internet worldwide, In medicine, patients have been using this tool to look for treatment for some medical topics. In recent years, there have been several pieces of information on the internet regarding treatment options for Prolactinoma. This study is intended to analyze the pros and weaknesses of currently available videos on YouTube regarding treatment options for Prolactinoma. Methods A YouTube search was conducted using the terms “prolactinoma treatment,” “prolactinoma cure,” “prolactinoma therapy,” and “pituitary tumor treatment.”. Videos were evaluated for the target audience, its source, the general descriptive statistics, and five areas of content; The DISCERN scoring system was used to assess the quality of videos. Results Sixty-one videos met the inclusion criteria for further analysis. The majority (70.49%) were targeted toward the general population. In contrast, 26 videos (42.6%) were categorized as professional, and 18 (29.51%) were intended for Physicians. Of the 61 videos, 44 (72%) reviewed first-line treatment details, 6 (10%) included eligibility criteria, and 23 (38%) mentioned alternatives of treatment. Seven videos (11%) discussed the risks of surgery, and 17(28%) showed a surgical success rate. Conclusion Only 6 of the 61 videos included all assessed categories (First-line treatment details, Alternatives of treatment, eligibility criteria for surgery, surgical risks, and success rate). This study highlights the flaws of YouTube videos regarding information about prolactinoma treatment. There is a need for additional research, randomized studies regarding YouTube content about Prolactinoma treatment, and the necessity of practice guidelines for patients.