YouTube as a source of information in retinopathy of prematurity

We aimed to evaluate the quality of information available on YouTube regarding the basic information, examination, diagnosis, and the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

A YouTube search was performed on https://​www.​youtube.​com/ for videos pertaining to “retinopathy of prematurity” and “ROP.” The first 100 relevant videos were included in the study. Two ophthalmologist reviewers independently evaluated and classified the videos as useful or misleading. The videos were accepted as “useful,” if they provide scientifically correct information about any aspect of ROP: cause, pathogenesis, symptoms, findings, treatments, procedure details of the treatment, epidemiology, and prognosis. The videos contain scientifically unproven information are defined as “misleading.” Videos were also classified according to the source: surgeon/practitioner, independent user, hospital/free clinic, social media/TV, medical site, university, and advertisement.

The mean duration, the mean days on YouTube, the mean comments per videos, and the mean dislikes per video were similar in useful and misleading videos. However, the mean likes per day, mean view per video, and mean view per day were significantly higher in useful videos than those of misleading videos (p = 0.004, p = 0.022, and p = 0.011, respectively). Most of the useful videos were uploaded by healthcare professionals including source from university, hospital/free clinic, and surgeon/practitioner (48/64). The videos uploaded by healthcare professionals were more useful compared to those of non-healthcare professionals (p = 0.029).

YouTube could be used as an important tool for patient information in ROP. However, one third of the YouTube videos regarding ROP are misleading and may present a risk of harmful consequences. In this aspect, authoritative videos by healthcare professionals should be uploaded for dissemination of reliable information on ROP.