Analysis of the quality and reliability of trifocal intraocular lens videos on YouTube.

Objective: This study analyzed the quality and reliability of videos on YouTube as educational resources on trifocal intraocular lenses (IOL).

Methods: This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional and record-based study. An online YouTube search was performed using the terms "trifocal lens implants" and "trifocal IOL," and a total of 229 videos were recorded. Eighty-six videos that met the study criteria were included. All videos were evaluated with DISCERN, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and Global Quality Score (GQS) scores.

Results: The mean DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores were 37.79±11.92, 2.01±0.87, and 2.17±1.01, respectively. Of all the videos, 39 (45%) were uploaded by physicians, and 47 (55%) were uploaded by non-physicians. While the length of the videos (length) was significantly greater in the physician group (P=0.02), the age of the videos (age) was significantly higher in the non-physician group (P=0.02). However, the differences between the two groups in terms of other general characteristics, DISCERN, JAMA and GQS scores were not significant.

Conclusions: Our finding suggests that trifocal IOL-related YouTube™ videos are of low quality and reliability, thus inadequate for patient information.