Background:Osteoarthritis is a very common chronic disease. The information needs of patients vary depending on the health issue. Social media sites represent a novel source of health information and advice for patients with chronic diseases, such as osteoarthritis. Almost half of them use the internet to look for health related information [1]. No study has assessed the impact of social media on osteoarthritis and its treatment.Objectives:The purpose of this study was to evaluate frequently discussed osteoarthritis treatments on the social media Twitter.Methods:We retrospectively analyzed tweets, published between 1st and 31st January 2020, containing the keywords “osteoarthritis”. Only English language tweets were included. Tweets referred to veterinary medicine were excluded.Results:3587 tweets were analyzed. We identified 1737 tweets related to osteoarthritis treatment between 1st and 31st January 2020 (49.8%) (Figure 1). Dietary interventions were the most discussed treatment (18.3%, n=318/1737), including fruits, vegetables and plants (n=101), dietary supplements and vitamins (n=80), and spices (n=19). Physical medicine and rehabilitation (17.6%, n=305/1737) including sport (n=151), physiotherapy (n=70) and rehabilitation (n=57), were commonly discussed. Local therapies for osteoarthritis were also discussed by Twitter users (15.8%, n=274/1737). These included topical treatments such as anti-inflammatory gels and creams (n=23), and more invasive local treatments including intra-articular joint injections with corticosteroid (n=56), hyaluronans (n=29), stem cells (n=97), and Platelet-Rich Plasma (n=52). The frequently used systemic drugs were analgesia and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (n=113). Surgery and interventional radiology (genicular artery embolization) were also discussed (11.5%, n=199/1737). 5.6% tweets (n=97/1737) were related to alternative therapies. Predominant themes were related to marijuana (n=23), acupuncture treatment (n=17), homeopathy (n=10). Last but not least, 356 tweets (20.5%) referred to other websites including health programs.Conclusion:Our results demonstrate that osteoarthritis treatment is frequently discussed in published tweets. Thereby, social media could have an impact on behaviors and adherence on medication, and it seems interesting that learned societies, involved in osteoarthritis treatment, communicate more using social media.Figure 1.Osteoarthritis treatment discussed in published tweetsReferences:[1]Wagner TH, Baker LC, Bundorf MK, Singer S. Use of the Internet for health information by the chronically ill. Prev Chronic Dis 2004;1(4):A13.Disclosure of Interests:None declared
BackgroundFibromyalgia is a chronic condition affecting 2 to 8% of the population. Like any chronic disease, there is a need for information. More than one in two patients use the Internet as a source of health information. YouTube is an online video-sharing website that is consulted daily by both patients and healthcare professionals. This is the second most visited website in the world after Google. Usually, users view the top 60 most relevant videos.ObjectivesThe aim of our study was therefore to analyse the scientific quality of fibromyalgia videos on YouTube.MethodsWe performed an analysis by using the French version of youtube (www.youtube.fr) using the keyword “fibromyalgia”. Search parameters were left as default (i.e. ranking videos by relevance as most users do). Only videos in French were included. The Global Quality Scale (GQS) was used to assess the quality of the content.Results60 videos were selected. Four videos were excluded: 2 duplicates and 2 videos containing only music. The main results are presented in Table 1. 37.5% (n=21) of the videos were published by academic institutions and healthcare professionals. The mean duration of the videos was 12min34. The median GQS was 4. 75% (n=42) were scientifically relevant. 62.5% (n=35) of the videos demonstrated high quality, followed by intermediate quality (19.6% (n=11)). According to the GQS, 17.0% (n=10) of the videos were of low-quality.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, we have conducted the first study examining the scientific quality of fibromyalgia-related content on YouTube. Most of the content on YouTube relating to fibromyalgia provide useful information. Nevertheless, physicians should remind their patients to be cautious about using such a source of information.Table 1.Baseline features of the analyzed videosVariablesVideos (n=56)Number of comments13 (0-227)Number of likes201 (0-2400)Number of views9676.5 (241-99618)GQS4 (1-5)REFERENCES:NIL.Acknowledgements:NIL.Disclosure of InterestsNone Declared.
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