Are HoLEP Surgical Videos on YouTube Biased and Misleading or Are They Leading the Industry?

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we aim to evaluate the content and quality of\nthe most relevant YouTube videos related to Holmium laser enucleation of\nthe prostate (HoLEP) surgery. Materials and Methods: The keywords\n‘HOLEP’, ‘laser enucleation’ and ‘prostate enucleation’ were used to\nperform a search on YouTube. Non-English language videos, videos with\nless than 4-minute duration, and repetitive videos were excluded. The\nreactions of the viewers to the videos were evaluated by recording the\n‘total views’, ‘views/month’ and ‘likes and dislikes’ parameters. The\ndata were divided into two groups based on the source of upload: Group 1\nconsisted of healthcare providers and Groups 2 comprised commercial\ncompanies and for-profit organizations. Results: A total of 117 videos\nwere included in the study. A significant portion of the videos (77.7%)\nhad been uploaded by healthcare providers. There was no statistically\nsignificant difference between the uploading groups in terms of the\nDISCERN and GQS scores (p=0.484 and p=0.108, respectively). However, the\nPEMAT understandability and actionability scores were statistically\nsignificantly higher in Group 2 (p=0.004 and p=0.022, respectively). In\naddition, when the misinformation scale was evaluated, there were\nsignificantly more videos with high-degree misinformation in Group 2\n(5.5% vs 33.3, p=0.001). Conclusion: On video sharing platforms, such\nas YouTube, the number of reliable videos with accurate and appropriate\nguidance about diseases and treatments should be increased, and these\nvideos should be allowed to be posted after they have been approved by\nrelevant institutions, including healthcare associations and\nuniversities.