Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34759526›Full record

ArticleIndian journal of urology : IJU : journal of the Urological Society of India

Assessing information on YouTube™ as a quality source for the treatment of varicoceles.

H Stephen Hong, J Jacob Lang, Shivashankar Damodaran, Puneet Sindhwani

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Article in Indian journal of urology : IJU : journal of the Urological Society of India. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Evaluating quality, understandability, and actionability of YouTube content for gender-affirming surgery.Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

H Stephen HongDepartment of Urology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
J Jacob LangDepartment of Urology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Shivashankar DamodaranDepartment of Urology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Puneet SindhwaniDepartment of Urology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, Ohio, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionYouTube™ has grown into one of the largest disseminators of health care information. We assessed the quality of information on varicoceles and their treatment, available on YouTube™.

methodsUsing a YouTube™ search query with the keyword "varicocele," the quality of the first 50, nonrepeat videos in English were assessed as a representative group for the topic. DISCERN and Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT-AV) standardized tools were utilized by three independent reviewers to grade the quality of these videos based on content, understandability, and actionability.

resultsThe average and median DISCERN score was 31.34 (±9.37) and 31 (interquartile range 25-35), respectively, indicating poor quality. The interrater reliability (IRR) scores ranged from 0.51 to 0.93, indicating fair to excellent reliability. The average PEMAT-AV understandability and actionability scores were 69.8% ±15.4% and 11.0% ±24.6%, respectively, indicating mostly understandable but poor actionability. The

conclusionsThe current quality of videos on YouTube™ on the topic of varicoceles is of poor quality due to a lack of a holistic approach in explaining the wide range of treatment options available. With the ease of access to produce and disseminate health information, there is a need to create high-quality videos on varicoceles that empower a patient to make an informed decision.

Identifiers

PMID34759526
PMCPMC8555574

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.