Purpose: To characterize the quality of YouTube total shoulder arthroplasty videos as a source of patient information using the DISCERN instrument.
Methods: An analysis of the YouTube video library was performed, using a string of 6 search terms related to "total shoulder replacement" and "total shoulder arthroplasty" in the YouTube search engine. The first 20 videos from each search (n = 120) were selected. The top 25 most viewed videos were compiled, screened, and evaluated with the DISCERN score in the final analysis. Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to assess the correlation of DISCERN scores and video characteristics. Inter-rater reliability was calculated with the conger kappa score for multiple raters.
Results: Twenty-five videos met inclusion criteria, 13 (52%) were produced by academic institutions, 7 (28%) by physicians, and 5 (20%) by commercial entities. Median total DISCERN score was 33 out of 80 (IQR: 28-44). The overall total DISCERN scores, showed no correlation with video likes or views and was negatively correlated with video power index (r = -0.75, P = .001). No association between total shoulder arthroscopy video source and DISCERN score could be demonstrated. All videos analyzed scored poorly by the DISCERN instrument.
Conclusions: The current most popular shoulder replacement videos on YouTube are low-quality patient education resources. Furthermore, our study found no correlation between video popularity, as measured by the number of views and the DISCERN score.
Clinical relevance: Successful outcomes following total shoulder arthroplasty may be influenced by the quality of information patients receive.
© 2023 The Authors.