Quality and reliability evaluation of online videos on carpal tunnel syndrome: a YouTube video-based study

OBJECTIVES: With the increasing popularity of searches for medical information on YouTube, the availability of videos concerning carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is increasing. This study aimed to evaluate the quality and reliability of YouTube videos on CTS. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: No participants were included. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: We searched YouTube on 1 April 2021 using the keywords “carpal tunnel syndrome” and “carpal tunnel release” and evaluated the first 55 retrieved videos. We summarised the video characteristics including Video Power Index (VPI), which was designed to evaluate video popularity based on the number of likes and views. We categorised them based on source and content. Video quality and reliability were evaluated using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, the Global Quality Score (GQS) and the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome-Specific Score (CTS-ss). RESULTS: The mean (range: minimum–maximum) of JAMA scores, GQS and CTS-ss were 2.13 (1–4), 2.69 (1–5), and 5.0 (1–15), respectively. The most common source of video was from allied health workers, and academically sourced videos had the highest JAMA score and GQS. Three scores were significantly correlated with each other. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that a higher JAMA score was associated with a higher likes ratio, and a higher GQS was associated with a longer video running time and greater number of comments. However, a higher VPI was not associated with higher video quality or reliability represented by the three scores. CONCLUSIONS: YouTube videos on CTS have low quality and reliability. Video popularity was not significantly correlated with quality or reliability. Our findings suggest that expert groups should provide and promote high-quality video content to YouTube users and patients.