YouTube as a Source of Medical Information About Spinal Cord Stimulation

Social media platforms may play an important role in the dissemination of medical information on interventional pain procedures. This cross-sectional study quantitatively assessed the reliability and quality of information from YouTube regarding spinal cord stimulation.

YouTube was queried on May 20, 2020 using keywords "spinal cord stimulator," "spinal cord stimulation experience," and "spinal cord stimulation risks." The top 50 viewed videos from each search were analyzed. The primary outcome was video quality, which was analyzed using the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) criteria.

Seventy-nine of 103 (77%) videos were classified as useful. Fifteen of 103 (14%) videos were classified as misleading and contained nonfactual information on spinal cord stimulation. Hospitals, group practices, or physicians produced a greater proportion of useful videos compared to misleading videos (63.3% vs. 26.7%, p = 0.008). Nonmedical independent users produced a greater proportion of misleading videos compared to useful videos (73.3% vs. 16.4%, p < 0.001). Useful videos had significantly higher mDISCERN scores compared to misleading videos (2.6 vs. 1.9, p = 0.009). Nonmedical independent users produced a greater proportion of low-quality videos (mDISCERN score < 3) than high-quality videos (mDISCERN score ≥ 3; 50.8% vs. 2.4%, respectively, p < 0.001). Educational videos from professional pain medicine societies were not captured.

YouTube is an accessible platform for medical information on spinal cord stimulation, yet a significant amount of nonfactual information is present. As social media platforms continue to gain prominence in health care, future efforts to appraise the quality of medical content delivered to the public are warranted. In addition, reputable sources including professional pain medicine societies should consider collaborating with producers to disseminate high-quality video content that reaches a wider audience.