Evaluation of YouTube as a reliable source for patient education on aortic valve stenosis

Background : Aortic stenosis (AS) is a prevalent disease in the elderly population and has been a public health concern for decades. YouTube is currently being used for obtaining healthcare related information. We evaluated the quality of information about AS on YouTube for patient education. Methods : YouTube was queried for the search phrases “aortic valve stenosis”, “aortic valve replacement”, “transcatheter aortic valve replacement” and “TAVR”. Videos were assessed for their reliability and content with two ve-point scales. They were categorized into groups according to usefulness and uploader source. All videos were assessed for audience interaction. Videos were viewed and analyzed by 2 independent investigators. Con icts were resolved by a third investigator. Results : Search phrases yielded 69,300 videos, among which, 120 videos were evaluated and 85 videos were included in the nal analysis. Of the 85 videos, only 45 videos (53%) were found to be useful while 40 videos (47%) were found to be non-useful. The majority (98%) of the useful videos were uploaded by professional sources. Overall, videos uploaded by non-professional sources had higher number of views (23,553 vs . 11,110, P≤0.001) despite of being less useful (14% vs . 67%, P Conclusions : There is a potential to increase public awareness about aortic valve stenosis and the available treatment options by utilizing YouTube. Professional societies are encouraged to provide more useful material that can deliver comprehensive and reliable information in an entertaining and intuitive manner to the public.