YouTube as a Source of Recognizing Acute Stroke; Progress in 2 years

Abstract Background YouTube™ has a great role in providing information, which includes educational videos, to more than 2 billion users, making it the second most popular application in the world. BE-FAST is a modified version of the FAST mnemonic and is used to detect acute ischemic stroke by the patients or their relatives. The purpose of this study is to assess the overall usefulness of the information of YouTube in acute stroke patients. Methods YouTube was searched for the following five terms: “stroke”, ‘‘stroke diagnosis”, “stroke signs”, “brain attack” and “what is stroke” in November 2021 and May 2023, separately. Two independent neurology specialists scored each video by using Global Quality Scale (GQS). Results Among the total of 150 videos, the number that met inclusion criteria was 91 for the November 2021 search and 104 for the May 2023 search. For the 2021 search, in 30 videos (33%), the FAST mnemonic or its contents were noticed, whereas BE-FAST was mentioned in only four videos (4.4%). For the 2023 search, the FAST mnemonic or its contents were noticed in 36 videos (34.6%) and BE-FAST was mentioned in 11 videos (10.6%). Among the 2021 and 2023 searches, the mean GQS values were 3.09 and 2.96 points, 50 (54.8%) vs 56 (53.8%) videos rated 3.5 points or higher (high quality), respectively. GQS scores of the videos mentioning balance, eyes, face, arms, speech, and time, the basic and further information about radiology and treatment, and mentioning FAST, BE-FAST, and TPA were significantly higher. Conclusion We conclude that YouTube is not yet useful enough to detect acute ischemic stroke, though has made positive progress with the developing use of social media for healthcare information and education.