YouTube Videos Provide Low-Quality Educational Content About the Anterolateral Ligament of the Knee

To evaluate the reliability and quality of the educational content of YouTube videos about the anterolateral ligament (ALL).

A standard search of the YouTube database was performed. All English-language videos were included for analysis. Video reliability was assessed with the use of the DISCERN tool, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, and Global Quality Score (GQS). Data regarding the duration of the videos, date of publication, and number of likes and views were collected. Furthermore, videos were categorized based on video source (health professional, company, or private user), type of information (surgical technique, overview, or anatomy, radiology, and patient experience), and video content (education or patient experience/testimony).

A total of 94 videos were included in the analysis. Of these videos, 88 (93.6%) were published by health professionals, whereas 4 (4.3%) were published by companies and 2 (2.1%) were published by private users. Most of the videos were about surgical technique (57.4%), and almost all the videos (98.9%) had an educational aim, with the exception of 1 video that reported a patient experience (1.1%). The mean length of the videos was 648.4 ± 973.5 seconds, and the mean online period was 34.5 ± 27.0 months. The mean DISCERN score, JAMA score, and GQS were 32.9 ± 15.9, 1.5 ± 0.9, and 2.3 ± 1.0, respectively. Videos that provided an overview of the ALL were the best in terms of all quality scores and were significantly higher quality than videos about surgical technique and anatomy, radiology, and patient experience for all scores (P < .001). No difference was found between surgical technique and anatomy, radiology, and patient experience (DISCERN score, P > .99; JAMA score, P = .839; and GQS, P > .99).

The educational content of YouTube videos about the ALL of the knee showed low quality and validity based on the DISCERN score, JAMA score, and GQS.

With the growing use of social media by patients to gather information about their medical conditions, it is crucial for orthopaedic health care providers to recognize the limitations of social media videos discussing the ALL as potential sources of knowledge for their patients.