Evaluation of the Quality, Reliability, and Popularity of YouTube Videos on Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: A Critical Analysis

ABS TRACT Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the quality and reliability of YouTube videos related to thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS).Material and Methods: The most searched TOS-related keywords were identified via Google Trends, and a YouTube search was conducted using 5 selected keywords.A total of 150 videos were reviewed, ranked by views, and assessed based on type, duration, upload time, views, daily views, likes, daily likes, dislikes, and comments.Video popularity was measured using the Video Power Index (VPI), while quality and reliability were evaluated using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) criteria, the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN), the Global Quality Scale (GQS), and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT-A/V).Videos were categorized by source and GQS scores.Results: After applying the exclusion criteria, 42 videos were analyzed.Most were uploaded by physicians or healthcare personnel (n=37, 88%).Videos from these sources had significantly higher PEMAT-A/V A scores than those from websites (p=0.012,p=0.016), but no significant differences were found in other parameters.Based on GQS, 38.1% (n=16) of the videos were of low quality, 26.2% (n=11) were of moderate quality, and 35.7% (n=15) were of high quality.Video duration, views, daily views, dislikes, comments, daily likes, and VPI did not differ by quality.However, time since upload, likes, PEMAT-A/V A and U, JAMA, and mDISCERN scores showed significant differences (respectively, p=0.006, p=0.036, p=0.003, p=0.002, p=0.005, and p<0.01).Conclusion: Most YouTube videos on TOS are of low to moderate quality, which may mislead viewers seeking health information.Efforts should focus on improving the quality and reliability of online health content.