Current tonsillectomy trends on social media: A cross-sectional multi-platform content analysis.

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Health Communication
• Medical Education

Background:

• Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok significantly influence patient decisions regarding medical treatments.
• Online perceptions of procedures such as tonsillectomy can impact a patient's likelihood to pursue surgical intervention.
• Evaluating the accuracy and favorability of social media content is crucial for informed patient decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the accuracy and favorability of information about tonsillectomies shared on Instagram reels and TikTok.
• To compare the quality of tonsillectomy information provided by different sources on social media platforms.
• To understand the role of patient-generated versus professionally-generated content in shaping perceptions of tonsillectomy.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study analyzing 200 TikTok videos and 200 Instagram reels related to "tonsillectomy".
• Content was reviewed by two independent researchers for accuracy and favorability, with a third reviewer managing discrepancies.
• Data analysis involved descriptive statistics to evaluate video characteristics and accuracy metrics.

Main Results:

• On TikTok, 81.5% of videos were patient experiences, with 36.8% being unfavorable compared to 9.6% of educational videos.
• On Instagram, 48.5% of reels aligned with AAO-HNS Guidelines, with physician-created posts showing 92.1% accuracy versus 30.1% for patient/parent posts.
• The majority of content was patient-generated (over 50% on Instagram), and while mean likes were substantial, median likes were lower, indicating influence from viral content.

Conclusions:

• Social media users researching tonsillectomies primarily encounter content from patients and parents.
• Accuracy of tonsillectomy information on social media is significantly higher in physician-created content compared to patient or parent-generated content.
• The substantial engagement metrics suggest that viral patient experiences heavily influence the information viewed, potentially impacting patient decisions.