P3.R356: Comparative Analysis of Social Media Formal and Informal Search Terms Regarding Use of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy for Musculoskeletal Soft Tissue Injuries

Background: With the popularity of Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy increasing, the mention of PRP has exploded on platforms like YouTube (YT) and Tiktok (TT) with mixed reliability and accuracy of information that might sway a younger audience one way over the other.
Our goal was to survey and compare the outcome of search results on PRP using formal and informal search terms among YT and TT platforms.

Methods: The “formal” search term “Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy” and the “informal” search term “PRP” were searched on YT and TT in March 2024 using private browser settings on Google Chrome. Exclusion criteria included non-English videos, videos longer than 15 minutes, and videos that were not specific to use of PRP for musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries. Included were 50 formal and 50 informal YT videos and 50 formal and 50 informal TT videos. Videos were reviewed by two independent researchers. Information collected included publication date, length of video, views, likes, comments, presence of a medical professional, side effects of PRP therapy, overall perception of PRP therapy by main subject (0= absolute negative and 10= absolute positive), DISCERN scores 1 and 2 and Patient Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). The PEMAT score evaluated understandability and actionability and ranked quality from 0= poor to 100=excellent. The DISCERN reliability and quality of information scores ranked quality from 1 = poor to 5 = excellent. DISCERN, PEMAT, and overall perception scores were averaged between the two reviewers. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistics software v24. Chi-squared analysis and student’s t-tests were used to evaluate significance with α=.05.

Results: The average formal video was 132 seconds long and had 24,364 views, 231 likes, 18 comments, and 103,225 followers. The average informal video was 157 seconds long and had 37,658 views, 848 likes, 51 comments, and 103,456 followers. Formal videos had significantly higher DISCERN 1 Reliability score than informal videos (2.95 vs 2.88; p=0.024), DISCERN 2 Quality of Information score (2.82 v 2.67; p= < 0.001), PEMAT Understandability score (84.20 vs 73.74; p= < 0.001), PEMAT Actionability score (55.59 v 49.33; p= < 0.001), and number of medical professionals present (90% vs 79%; p= < 0.001). Informal videos were more likely to describe side effects than formal videos (26% vs 11%; p=0.006). There was no significant difference in overall perception of PRP therapy (p=0.166).

Conclusion: Informal search terms were more likely to mention side effects while yielding less quality, reliable data that did not feature medical professionals. This raises concerns about platelet-rich plasma therapy information consumed by younger media users/athletes who might be recommended PRP therapy but were more likely to consume knowledge and make judgments from social media using informal search terms.