Assessment of the Readability of Google Gemini-Generated Versus UpToDate Clinical Contents for Ventricular Tachycardia Management

Introduction Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a life-threatening arrhythmia requiring complex management. Google Gemini is increasingly used to generate medical content, while UpToDate remains a leading expert-authored clinical reference. This study compared the "readability," not the "clinical accuracy," of VT-related content generated by Google Gemini and UpToDate. Aims This study aims to objectively compare the readability of Google Gemini-generated medical content and UpToDate expert-authored material on VT using standardized readability indices. Methods A cross-sectional study analyzed 12 textual responses on VT management: six from Google Gemini and six from UpToDate. Readability was assessed using the WebFX Readability Test Tool, which calculates Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) Index, and Difficult Word Percentage. As the data were non-normally distributed, the Mann-Whitney U test was applied. The analysis was limited to quantitative readability metrics and did not assess clinical accuracy or human comprehension. Results The median FKGL score was 16.5 for UpToDate and 13.5 for Google Gemini (p = 0.017), indicating that UpToDate text required a more advanced reading level. The median Difficult Word Percentage was 32.0% for Google Gemini and 28.6% for UpToDate (p = 0.026), suggesting that Google Gemini content contained a higher proportion of multisyllabic or specialized words. No significant differences were observed in FRE or SMOG Index values (p > 0.05). Conclusion Google Gemini-generated content demonstrated a simpler sentence structure but greater lexical density compared to UpToDate. This highlights a distinct linguistic pattern: syntactic simplicity combined with concentrated technical vocabulary. These findings emphasize the importance of expert review when using Google Gemini-generated material in medical education and communication.