Twitter Hashtags for Anesthesiologists: Building Global Communities

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Social Media Analysis

Background:

• Twitter is increasingly used by anesthesiologists for professional engagement.
• Its potential for research dissemination and discussion is recognized.
• Baseline usage of non-event-specific hashtags requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify frequently used, general anesthesia-related hashtags on Twitter.
• To determine popular hashtags within anesthesia subspecialties.
• To aid anesthesiologists in optimizing social media engagement.

Main Methods:

• Systematic searches on Twitter.
• Analysis using hashtag-tracking services.
• Identification of actively used anesthesia-related hashtags.

Main Results:

• #anesthesia and #anaesthesia are the most frequent general anesthesia hashtags.
• Key subspecialty hashtags include #pedsanes, #anesJC, #OBanes, #intubation, #regionalanesthesia, #neuroanesthesia, and #cardiacanesthesia.
• These hashtags represent active areas of online discussion.

Conclusions:

• Specific hashtags facilitate targeted discussions in anesthesiology on Twitter.
• Understanding hashtag usage can enhance the reach of anesthesia-related content.
• These findings support the strategic use of social media in anesthesiology.