Analysis of Online Patient Education Materials on Rhinoplasty

Patel MJ, Perez BR, Zhu AQ, Cristel RT.

What this paper says

The top 75 Google articles on rhinoplasty read at an average 10th-grade level, well above the recommended 5th grade, and among 75 YouTube videos those made by physicians were significantly more reliable and educational than patient-experience videos.

Overview

The authors searched Google and YouTube for rhinoplasty patient information, took the first 100 results from each, and analysed 75 articles and 75 videos that met inclusion criteria. Articles were scored with six validated readability formulas; videos with the JAMA benchmark criteria (reliability) and the Global Quality Score (educational value).

Sections of note

Mean reading grade level 10.31 (range 5-20; 95% CI 9.83-10.79).
Physician-authored videos: significantly more reliable (P < 0.001) and higher educational value (P < 0.001).
Patient education videos were more reliable than patient experience videos (P = 0.01).
Even physician videos "lack important information."

What it means for a patient

Most written rhinoplasty information online is too hard for many readers, and videos by patients about their own experience are the least reliable source.
Physician videos are better but still incomplete; they do not replace a consultation.
This site's summaries aim to sit at a lower reading level than the material studied here.

Why this paper matters

It benchmarks the quality of what patients actually find online. Limits: single time point, English only, quality scores are proxies.

Terms

Readability grade level: the US school grade needed to understand a text.
JAMA benchmark criteria: four markers of source reliability (authorship, attribution, disclosure, currency).
Global Quality Score (GQS): a 1-5 rating of educational usefulness.
Patient experience video: a first-person account of having surgery.

Summary written by rhinoplasty.cc from the abstract, 2026-09-08; not medical advice. The authors' own abstract follows.

From the abstract

“Are education materials available online appropriate for patients seeking information before rhinoplasty? Study Design: Google.com and YouTube.com were searched for patient education information on rhinoplasty procedures. Of the first 100 results, 75 articles and 75 videos met the inclusion criteria. Each article's…”

Excerpt; the full abstract is on PubMed.