Background: The online presence of YouTube as a broad means for video information sharing may have an influential role on the public's understanding of ablation techniques in treatment of Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPW) syndrome. This project was designed to collect and analyze available video information on YouTube regarding WPW ablation
Methods: Researchers searched YouTube under the tag, "WPW Ablation" to poll available media from the first 10 pages on YouTube. Two separate observers analyzed and categorized these videos by topic, number of views, average views per topic, and average likes and dislikes per topic.
Results: In total, 128 videos were categorized; 45 videos under patient’s testimonials, 33 videos aimed at educating healthcare professionals, 27 videos as patient education, 8 videos as advertisements, 8 videos aimed at raising public awareness of WPW syndrome ablation, 6 intraoperative videos, and 1 video from a public event. Patient testimonials generated the maximum number of videos, with videos on healthcare education generating maximum number of likes (731 likes). Videos on patient education generated the maximum number of views (251,492 of 1,048,642 total views).
Conclusion: YouTube provides a wide range of health-related information, however, there is no oversight or quality control of the content of these videos. The available information for WPW ablation could be improved if experts in the field compiled and standardized educational videos for patients.
