(762) TTTS on TikTok: news or noise?

Friday, January 31, 2025

10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Submitting Author and Presenting Author(s)

Gabriela F. Tessler, MD

Resident
Columbia University Medical Center
New York, NY, United States

Coauthor(s)

Noelle Breslin, MD

Columbia University Medical Center
New York, New York, United States
RM

Russell S. Miller, MD (he/him/his)

Sloane Hospital for Women Associate Professor of Prenatal Pediatrics (in Obstetrics and Gynecology)
Columbia University Medical Center
New York, New York, United States

Objective: Patients are increasingly looking to TikTok for health information. We evaluated content and quality of TikTok videos related to twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) and fetoscopic laser surgery (FLS).

Study Design: The top 50 TikTok videos (TikToks) related to TTTS were identified using search terms “TTTS”, “twin-twin transfusion”, and “fetal laser surgery”. Data were gathered on video metrics. Three independent reviewers evaluated videos using three standardized quality scales: a modified 5-point DISCERN scale, the Patient Education Maternal Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT A/V), and a 5-point Likert Global Quality Scale (GQS). TikToks were also graded on creator type, content, tone, and outcomes. Exclusion criteria included non-English, unrelated, or duplicate videos.

Results: 50 TikToks created by 42 users were evaluated. Total views for all TikToks were 63.3 million. The most viewed TikTok had 2.5 million views, the most liked had 537,000 likes, and the most shared had 22,100 shares. 66% of content was created by patients and 14% was created by medical professionals. 26% of videos contained educational content. 34% of videos reported a good fetal outcome and 8% noted a complication or poor outcome. The mean mDISCERN score was 0.8 (SD 0.7). The mean PEMAT A/V understandability score was 56.3% (SD 28.9%), and the mean actionability score was 2.4% (SD 7.5%). The median GQS was 1 [IQR 1- 1.6]. TikToks posted by medical professionals had higher quality scores (p< 0.001). Of the 10 videos with highest GQS, 6 were posted by medical professionals. Of the 10 most-liked videos, 3 were posted by medical professionals.

Conclusion: TikToks related to TTTS and FLS are highly viewed, liked, and shared, yet of overall poor quality. A majority of content was posted by patients and related to individual pregnancy experiences, and was more likely to detail good outcomes than poor outcomes. Medical professionals posted higher-quality content, much of which was highly viewed and liked. These data support a need and demand for more high-quality content related to TTTS and FLS on TikTok.