Evaluation of quality and reliability of musculoskeletal ultrasound videos on YouTube

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives To evaluate musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) video contents on YouTube, regarding their quality, reliability, and educational value. Method The first three pages for the keywords ‘Musculoskeletal Ultrasound’, ‘joint ultrasound’, and ‘articular ultrasound’ were searched through YouTube website. The quality of the videos was assessed according to the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Guidelines and EULAR Competency Assessment in MSUS. The reliability was evaluated with modified DISCERN tool. Results After the exclusion criteria applied, 58 videos were evaluated. The video quality analysis showed that probe holding (68.9%; median: 5, range: 0–5), scanning technique (63.8%; median: 4, range: 0–5), identification of anatomic structures (72.4%; median: 4, range: 0–5), and description of ultrasound findings (65.5%; median: 4, range: 0–5) were found to be sufficient, whereas ultrasound machine settings adjustments (1.7%; median: 0, range: 0–4) and final ultrasound diagnosis (12.1%; median: 0, range: 0–5) were insufficient. The total median value of the modified DISCERN scale was 2 (percentile: 2–2, range: 0–3). Conclusion MSUS video contents on YouTube are insufficient for educational purposes on MSUS training. There is a need for affordable, easily accessed, standardized, and peer-reviewed online training programmes on MSUS and MSUS-guided injections.