bims-librar Biomed News
on Biomedical librarianship
Issue of 2022‒12‒18
fifteen papers selected by
Thomas Krichel
Open Library Society


  1. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2022 Dec 16. 22(1): 322
      BACKGROUND: Within evidence-based practice (EBP), systematic reviews (SR) are considered the highest level of evidence in that they summarize the best available research and describe the progress in a determined field. Due its methodology, SR require significant time and resources to be performed; they also require repetitive steps that may introduce biases and human errors. Machine learning (ML) algorithms therefore present a promising alternative and a potential game changer to speed up and automate the SR process. This review aims to map the current availability of computational tools that use ML techniques to assist in the performance of SR, and to support authors in the selection of the right software for the performance of evidence synthesis.METHODS: The mapping review was based on comprehensive searches in electronic databases and software repositories to obtain relevant literature and records, followed by screening for eligibility based on titles, abstracts, and full text by two reviewers. The data extraction consisted of listing and extracting the name and basic characteristics of the included tools, for example a tool's applicability to the various SR stages, pricing options, open-source availability, and type of software. These tools were classified and graphically represented to facilitate the description of our findings.
    RESULTS: A total of 9653 studies and 585 records were obtained from the structured searches performed on selected bibliometric databases and software repositories respectively. After screening, a total of 119 descriptions from publications and records allowed us to identify 63 tools that assist the SR process using ML techniques.
    CONCLUSIONS: This review provides a high-quality map of currently available ML software to assist the performance of SR. ML algorithms are arguably one of the best techniques at present for the automation of SR. The most promising tools were easily accessible and included a high number of user-friendly features permitting the automation of SR and other kinds of evidence synthesis reviews.
    Keywords:  Automatization; Evidence-based practice; Machine learning; Mapping review; Software development; Systematic reviews
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-022-01805-4
  2. Bioinformatics. 2022 Dec 13. pii: btac800. [Epub ahead of print]
      MOTIVATION: Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has confronted the biomedical community with an unprecedented challenge. The rapid spread of COVID-19 and ease of transmission seen worldwide is due to increased population flow and international trade. Front-line medical care, treatment research and vaccine development also require rapid and informative interpretation of the literature and COVID-19 data produced around the world, with 177,500 papers published between January 2020 and November 2021, i.e., almost 8,500 papers per month.To extract knowledge and enable interoperability across resources, we developed the COVID-19 Vocabulary (COVoc), an application ontology related to research of this pandemic. The main objective of COVoc development was to enable seamless navigation from biomedical literature to core databases and tools of ELIXIR, a European-wide intergovernmental organisation for life sciences.RESULTS: This collaborative work provided data integration into SIB Literature services (SIBiLS), an application ontology (COVoc), and a triage service named COVTriage and based on annotation processing to search for COVID-related information across pre-defined aspects with daily updates.Thanks to its interoperability potential, COVoc lends itself to wider applications, hopefully through further connections with other novel COVID-19 ontologies as has been established with CIDO.
    AVAILABILITY: https://github.com/EBISPOT/covoc, https://candy.hesge.ch/COVTriage.
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btac800
  3. Harm Reduct J. 2022 Dec 12. 19(1): 138
      BACKGROUND: Cannabis is used by millions of people for both medical and recreational purposes, and this use is even greater in jurisdictions where it is legalized, such as Canada. Online cannabis vendors have gained popularity for purchasing cannabis due to easy access and convenience to consumers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of health information provided by web sites of cannabis vendors selling products to Canadian consumers and to further identify trends in the information provided.METHODS: Six different searches were conducted on Google.ca, and the first 40 webpages of each search were screened for eligibility. A total of 33 unique web sites of cannabis vendors selling products to Canadian consumers were identified and included. The DISCERN instrument, which consists of 16 questions divided into three sections, was used to evaluate the quality of cannabis-related health information on these web sites.
    RESULTS: Across the 33 web sites, the average of the summed DISCERN scores was 36.83 (SD = 9.73) out of 75, and the mean score for the overall quality of the publication (DISCERN question 16) was 2.41 (SD = 0.71) out of 5. Many of these web sites failed to discuss uncertainties in research evidence on cannabis, the impact of cannabis use on quality of life, alternatives to cannabis use, risks associated with cannabis use, and lacked references to support claims on effects and benefits of use.
    CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the quality of cannabis-related health information provided by online vendors is poor. Healthcare providers should be aware that patients may use these web sites as primary sources of information and appropriately caution patients while directing them to high-quality sources. Future research should serve to replicate this study in other jurisdictions and assess the accuracy of information provided by online cannabis vendors, as this was outside the scope of the DISCERN instrument.
    Keywords:  Cannabis (medical or recreational); Consumer health information; DISCERN; Information assessment; Quality of information
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-022-00691-9
  4. J Community Genet. 2022 Dec 11.
      Phenylketonuria (PKU) is the most prevalent inborn error of amino acid metabolism, necessitating patients to strictly restrict dietary phenylalanine. As this can be a confusing and concerning diagnosis, patients and loved ones will likely be drawn to learn more. A critical factor for citizens to harness the health-related digital information is to ensure that it is easy to read. This study assessed the readability of 100 digital articles related to PKU and explored the effect of the source of online information on the readability of these articles. For each article, 5 readability tests were conducted using on-line readability software. From the 100 assessed websites, 34% were commercially sourced. Of the remaining 66 sites, 40% had.org and 17% had.gov extensions. All 5 tests confirm that a large majority of the sample was written at an unacceptable reading level. In fact, over two-thirds of the sample received a readability score within the difficult range for three of the tests, while the remaining two deemed 49% and 45% of the sample as difficult to read, respectively. Commercially sourced websites were deemed to be more difficult to read than the other sites with respect to the two of the five measures. Despite the large amount of PKU information online, most of it may be incomprehensible to the average person and thus miss the mark in helping patients and caregivers manage their condition. Opportunities exist for authors of digital health promotional information to effectively achieve their goal by using comprehensible, easy-to-read language.
    Keywords:  Online resources; Phenylketonuria (PKU); Readability
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-022-00626-8
  5. Semin Ophthalmol. 2022 Dec 16. 1-7
      PURPOSE: To assess the readability and accountability of online patient education materials related to oculoplastic diagnoses and treatments, and to determine the source of information encountered by patients searches.METHODS: We conducted a Google search for 20 search terms related to common oculoplastic diagnoses and treatments and analyzed the first 10 patient education websites populated for each term. Readability was assessed using four validated measures: Gunning Fog Index, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, and New Dale-Chall Readability. Accountability was assessed using 4 JAMA benchmarks on a scale of 0-4, with one point awarded for each of the following accountability criteria provided on the website: (1) including all authors and their relevant credentials (2) listing references (3) providing disclosures and (4) providing date of last update.
    RESULTS: The average grade level of 200 websites analyzed was 10.89, with 29% written at less than the 6th grade reading level recommended by the American Medical Association. The source of online information was most frequently educational institutions (36%) and private practices (34%), with fewer online patient education materials from national organizations (18%) and crowdsourced websites (12%). There were no significant differences in readability when comparing searches related to oculoplastics diagnoses versus treatments. Websites averaged 0.91 out of a maximum of 4 recommended accountability criteria, reflecting low overall accountability.
    CONCLUSIONS: Online education resources encountered by patients are often written at inappropriate reading levels and demonstrate low accountability. Online patient education materials are most frequently maintained by educational institutions and private practices, with fewer articles from national organizations. Revision of online materials may be necessary to improve health literacy among oculoplastic patients.
    Keywords:  accountability; education; oculoplastics; online; patient; readability
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/08820538.2022.2158039
  6. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2022 Dec 14. 10556656221142194
      OBJECTIVE: To assess the characteristics of popular videos on YouTube about the feeding of infants with cleft lip and palate (CLP) and analyze the adequacy of information provided by them.DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was used.
    METHODS: YouTube was systematically searched for consecutive relevant videos about the feeding of infants with CLP, using predefined keyword combinations, without any limitations on language or duration. Scrutiny of the top 50 videos for each keyword combination was performed and a self-designed data-extraction sheet was used. A content adequacy index was developed by an expert group, and used to assess content adequacy, classifying it into categories from excellent to poor.
    RESULTS: From an initial retrieval of 200 videos, 42 were included in the final assessment. The videos originated from nine different countries, with more than half coming from the USA and in English. Five of the videos came from the channel of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. Content adequacy analysis showed that no video could be classified as excellent, while 33.3% were classified as optimal, 21.4% as suboptimal and 45.2% as poor.
    CONCLUSIONS: The content adequacy of the majority of videos on YouTube, relating to the feeding of infants with CLP was inadequate, with only one third of them achieving optimal content adequacy. Efforts must be made to develop informative and standardized videos for social media and video-sharing platforms, perhaps through professional associations to ensure that families with an infant with CLP receive appropriate information.
    Keywords:  YouTube; breastfeeding; cleft lip and palate; feeding; information
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/10556656221142194
  7. Urology. 2022 Dec 07. pii: S0090-4295(22)01004-4. [Epub ahead of print]
      OBJECTIVES: To assess the quality of information on YouTube regarding post-prostatectomy incontinence treatments. The 2019 AUA/SUFU guidelines recommend the placement of a male sling or artificial urinary sphincter. Patient education is essential for appropriate expectations and patient satisfaction.METHODS: The top 100 most relevant (default setting) YouTube videos searched with terms "post-prostatectomy incontinence" and "male stress incontinence" were assessed using the validated DISCERN instrument, Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials, and a misinformation Likert Scale. Videos with poor video/audio quality, duplicates, and non-English videos were excluded. Four independent raters were randomly assigned such that each video had 2 raters. Data was analyzed using multivariate linear regression, and inter-rater reliability was measured using Cohen's kappa.
    RESULTS: The median DISCERN score was 2.5 with 71% of videos scoring <=3. The median PEMAT Actionability and Understandability scores were 64.6 (range 0-100) and 79.9 (range 52-100), respectively. The median misinformation Likert score was 1 range (1-4). Less than half of the videos discussed realistic treatment outcomes or the risks (39% and 24%, respectively). PEMAT Actionability and risk discussion significantly predicted average DISCERN score (p<0.001). There were no significant disagreements between raters.
    CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows most videos on post-prostatectomy incontinence had moderate to low quality information and were published by medical professionals. The majority did not sufficiently discuss realistic outcomes and risks, which are hallmarks of informed decision making. This provides an opportunity for the urologic community to create educational materials that adequately supplement shared-decision making for patients treated for post-prostatectomy incontinence.
    Keywords:  Post-prostatectomy incontinence; artificial urinary sphincter; educational quality; male sling; social media
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2022.09.042
  8. J Endod. 2022 Dec 13. pii: S0099-2399(22)00614-8. [Epub ahead of print]
      INTRODUCTION: YouTube TM is one of the most used social media platforms for healthcare information. Misinformation and poor educational content on this platform can exacerbate public anxiety and fear of root canal treatment. This study aims to investigate the quality of videos examining risks of root canal treatment on YouTube TM METHODS: YouTube TM was searched using a combination of keywords relating to endodontic complications to replicate goal-orientated browsing. Video quality was assessed using a modified DISCERN score and global quality score by two authors independently. Manifest quantitative content analysis was used to capture information about the video and extent of interactions. The ten most viewed videos were further analysed in terms of the messaging and format of the videos.RESULTS: The mean overall quality of the videos was relatively low (2.20). Videos produced by regulatory bodies had the highest mean score (3.00) and the shortest mean length (2 minutes 23 seconds) but had the fewest views and interactions. The poorest quality videos (mean 1.5) were produced by non-clinicians and news/media, which tended to be longer (mean 8 minutes 49 seconds) and received more engagement. Across all videos, information related to patient decision making tended to be poorly presented.
    CONCLUSIONS: The dental community, particularly institutions and organisations need to strategically create engaging videos to redress patients concerns about root canal treatment. This can counterbalance the existing misleading information and improve access to evidence-based content which will ultimately impact patient decision-making.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joen.2022.09.003
  9. Heliyon. 2022 Dec;8(12): e11947
      Objective: To assess the accuracy and quality of YouTube videos pertaining to early pregnancy loss for use as a patient education tool.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted via YouTube search using the keywords "miscarriage," "spontaneous abortion," "pregnancy loss," and "pregnancy failure." The first 20 results for each keyword search, sorted by both relevance and view count, were compiled into a list. Descriptive characteristics, including the numbers of views, likes, dislikes, video length, and duration of upload were collected. All videos were independently evaluated by two physician researchers using two unique assessment tools. The Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose (CRAAP) test was used to measure the reliability of video content. The Miscarriage-Specific Question Score (MSQS) criterion was used to objectively assess video content specific to miscarriage. Inter-rater agreement was analyzed via kappa coefficient and Pearson correlation.
    Results: 160 videos were screened, among which 74 videos were included for analysis. The mean CRAAP score was 8.3 out of a total possible score of 15, demonstrating good quality sources, though not of academic level. Mean MSQS score was 8.1 out of a total possible score of 24, demonstrating "fair" accuracy and comprehensiveness. Pearson correlations were 0.87 and 0.86 for CRAAP and MSQS total scores, respectively, demonstrating excellent inter-rater reliability.
    Conclusion: YouTube videos related to early pregnancy loss span a wide range of quality, accuracy, and purpose. While some videos provide effective content, mean rater scores demonstrate that YouTube is not a reliable source for patient education on early pregnancy loss.
    Keywords:  Early pregnancy loss; Miscarriage; Patient education; Social media; Spontaneous abortion
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11947
  10. Hypertens Res. 2022 Dec 12.
      Hypertension is an important public health problem due to its high prevalence and common complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of videos on YouTube related to reducing blood pressure and hypertension treatment. Using the six search terms "hypertension treatment", "cure hypertension", "hypertension medication", "control high blood pressure", "lower high blood pressure", and "reduce high blood pressure", a total of 360 relevant videos on YouTube were evaluated. Some parameters, i.e., the length of the video, number of days on YouTube, number of view counts, and number of likes, dislikes, and comments, were noted for all videos. The Global Quality Scale (GQS) was used to evaluate the quality of the videos. We categorized the video content as useful or misleading using the evidence-based medical literature. After exclusions, 104 videos were evaluated by two independent reviewers. Out of all the videos, 51% were useful, and 49% were misleading. Videos mentioned lifestyle changes (LCs) more (65 videos, 62.5%), and only 39.4% (41 videos) of all the videos contained information about pharmacological treatment (PT). Videos about alternative treatment (AT) had high numbers of views, and videos about PT had low numbers of views, and this difference was statistically significant. Videos that did not include PT but did include LCs and AT had more likes, similar to the number of views. YouTube, which is an important source of information, can guide individuals to in reducing high blood pressure with nonpharmacological and pharmacological methods. Uploaders; doctors (31.7%), herbalists/nutritionists (18.3%), independent users (10.6%), chiropractors (6.7%), yoga teachers (4.8%), and others (27.9%). (B) Country of origin; United States of America (58.7%), India (16.3%), Australia (5.8%), United Kingdom (3.8%), others (4.8%), and unknown (10.6%). (C) Usefulness rate by content (%). PT, pharmacological treatment; LC, lifestyle change; AT, alternative treatment.
    Keywords:  Access to information; Highblood pressure; Hypertension; Internet; Therapeutics
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-022-01112-x
  11. Int J Med Inform. 2022 Dec 13. pii: S1386-5056(22)00274-X. [Epub ahead of print]170 104960
      AIM: There is an increasing trend in the use of internet as a search tool for health-related informations. Insulin resistance is one of the most searched subjects online and some of the videos about insulin resistance have been watched by millions of YouTube users. This study aims to determine the quality and reliability of the most popular videos about insulin resistance on YouTube.METHODS: On March 1, 2022, the term "insulin resistance" was searched on YouTube. The videos' popularity was assessed with Video Power Index (VPI). The quality and reliability were assessed with DISCERN score, modified DISCERN score and global quality score (GQS).
    RESULTS: A total of 100 most popular videos were evaluated after applying the exclusion criteria. Fifty-four percent of the videos were very poor-poor, 35 % moderate, and 11 % good-excellent quality. Although few in number, the videos with relatively higher quality and more reliable had higher numbers of views, likes and comments (p < 0.01). There was a positive correlation between DISCERN score and VPI, duration, view, like, dislike, comment numbers of the videos (p < 0.01). Healthcare providers uploaded 58 % of the videos, while independent users uploaded 42 %. Video like ratio (VLR) at healthcare providers' videos was significantly higher than independent users' videos (p = 0.001).
    CONCLUSIONS: Despite the high viewing rates of YouTube videos about insulin resistance, the overall quality and reliability were found to be very low. However, when high quality content regarding popular medical topics is produced, more people can be informed correctly.
    Keywords:  Discern score; Global Quality Scale; Insulin resistance; Internet users; Online
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2022.104960
  12. Front Physiol. 2022 ;13 1038048
      Artificial intelligence gives pregnant women another avenue for receiving healthcare information. With the advancement of information and communication technology, searching online for pregnancy information has become commonplace during COVID-19. This study aimed to explore pregnant women's information-seeking behavior based on data mining and text analysis in China. Posts on maternal and infant-related websites were collected during 1 June 2020, and 31 January 2021. A total of 5,53,117 valid posts were obtained. Based on the data, we performed correlation analysis, topic analysis, and sentiment analysis. The correlation analysis showed the positive effects of population, population with a college education or above, and GDP on post counts. The topic analysis extracted six, nineteen, eighteen, thirteen, eleven, sixteen, thirteen, sixteen, nineteen, and fourteen topics in different months of pregnancy, reflecting different information needs in various pregnancy periods. The results of sentiment analysis show that a peak of the posts emerged in the second month of pregnancy and the proportion of emotionally positive posts reached its peak in the sixth month of pregnancy. The study provides important insights for understanding pregnant women's information-seeking behavior.
    Keywords:  health information; pregnancy; sentiment analysis; text analysis; topic analysis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.1038048
  13. Clin Med (Lond). 2022 Sep;22(5): 416-422
      BACKGROUND: Lack of clinical trial awareness has been identified as a barrier to clinical trial recruitment. Identifying factors associated with clinical trial knowledge could inform ongoing efforts to improve diversity in clinical trials.METHODS: Using data from the Health Information National Trends Survey, 2020, we examined the knowledge of clinical trials, associated characteristics, sources of clinical trial information and motives to participate in clinical trials among the general population in the USA.
    RESULTS: Of 3,772 US adults, 41.3% reported not knowing about clinical trials. Prevalence of having no knowledge of clinical trials was higher among Hispanic adults (51.8%) and non-Hispanic Black adults (41.8%) compared with non-Hispanic White adults (37.4%; p=0.013). Other significant predictors of knowledge about clinical trials included higher education, online health information-seeking behaviour and patient portal access. Most respondents (73.2%) reported that healthcare providers were the most trusted source of information. Helping other people (71.6%) was the primary motivation for clinical trial participation, followed by financial compensation (12.5%) and receiving better treatment (5.1%).
    CONCLUSION: There is a gap in knowledge about clinical trials among the US population. Development of multimodal approaches, including online and offline information broadcasting, is needed to improve knowledge and clinical trial recruitment in diverse populations.
    Keywords:  clinical trial; public knowledge; recruitment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmed.2022-0107