Evaluating YouTube content on appendicitis: a comparative analysis of Arabic and English videos in terms of quality

To evaluate the impact of YouTube videos in giving information regarding appendicitis. Study design: A cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the actual scientific benefits that the public obtains when searching YouTube for the topics of appendicitis. The analysis of the videos took place in the period between January 21st and January 31st of the year 2024. 130 videos were collected in which 65 of them are in Arabic and the 65 others are in English without using filters and in a default pattern. Videos that are selected are original videos excluding repetitive and foreign language ones as well as videos that are not related to the topic. The selected videos are distributed randomly into 2 equal Excel sheets, in which the type of topics was categorized as anatomy, pathology, etiology, symptoms and signs, treatment and many more. Each one of the excel sheets were reviewed independently by 2 different authors and one author to resolve the differences in the results. 4 measure tools were used in this evaluation. modified DISCERN (m-DISCERN), Video Information and Quality Index (VIQI), and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). There was no significant difference between English and Arabic videos in terms of video characteristics such as length, thumbs up, and duration of upload. However, the number of certified English uploaders was higher than that of Arabic ones (68.3% to 36.2%), in which official media was dominant in Arabic uploaders whereas that in the English ones are non-profit organizations. Regarding the type of uploaders, certified doctors and official media were statistically greater in Arabic uploaders (41.4% to 11.7% and 24.1% to 8.3% respectively), whereas non-profit organizations dominate English uploaders (46.7% compared to 5.2%). No statistical difference was observed regarding the number of topics of the videos in which treatment was more common in English videos in contrast to symptoms and signs in Arabic ones. No differences found between the videos relevant according to the PEMAT and VIQI scales, precision and info accuracy was higher in English videos. mDISCERN and GQS were greater in English videos specifically in the reliable source of info. English videos carry information of high quality due to the abundance of reliable sources in English speaking nations. On the other hand, Arabic videos use anecdotal information and evidence with few citations of from reliable sources.