The shifting paradigm to social media in neurosurgery

Neurosurgery is evolving with new techniques and technologies, relies heavily on high-quality education and training. Social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn have become integral to this training. These platforms enable sharing of surgical experiences, fostering global knowledge-sharing and collaboration among neurosurgeons. Virtual conferences and courses are accessible, enhancing learning regardless of location. While these networks offer real-time communication and collaborative opportunities, they also pose challenges like the spread of misinformation and potential distractions. According to the PICO format, the target population (P) for the purpose of this paper are medical students, neurosurgical residents and consultants on the role of social media (I) in neurosurgery among Low-Middle income countries (C) with the main outcome to understand the collaborative domain of learning. This cross-sectional survey, conducted in June-July 2023, involved 210 medical students, neurosurgery residents, fellows, and practicing neurosurgeons from low and middle-income countries. A structured questionnaire assessed social network usage for neurosurgery training, covering demographic details, usage frequency, and purposes like education, collaboration, and communication. Participants rated these platforms' effectiveness in training on a 1-5 scale. Data collection employed emails, social media groups, and direct messaging, assuring respondent anonymity. The survey aimed to understand and improve social networks' use in neurosurgery, focusing on professional development, challenges, and future potential in training. In a survey of 210 participants from low and middle-income countries, 85.5% were male, 14.5% female, with diverse roles: 42.9% neurosurgery residents, 40% practicing neurosurgeons, 14.6% medical students, and 2.4% other healthcare professionals. Experience ranged from 0 to 35 years, with Mexico, Nigeria, and Kenya being the top participating countries. Most respondents rated neurosurgery training resources in their countries as poor or very poor. 88.7% used social media professionally, predominantly WhatsApp and YouTube. Content focused on surgical videos, research papers, and webinars. Concerns included information quality and data privacy. Interactive case discussions, webinars, and lectures were preferred resources, and most see a future role for social media in neurosurgery training. Our study underscores the crucial role of social media in neurosurgery training and practice in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Key resources include surgical videos, research papers, and webinars. While social media offers a cost-effective, global knowledge-sharing platform, challenges like limited internet access, digital literacy, and misinformation risks remain significant in these regions.

BackgroundThe advent of social media has significantly transformed various medical specialties, including neurosurgery. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to characterize the utilization of social media in neurosurgery and to evaluate the impact of social media usage in neurosurgery. Furthermore, the study aimed to determine the demographics of social media users in neurosurgery and delineate their purposes for engaging with social media platforms.MethodsA comprehensive literature search was conducted across the PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane databases to identify studies investigating the role of social media in neurosurgery. Articles were screened for relevance, and selected studies were systematically reviewed and analyzed to assess the integration of social media within neurosurgical practices.Results105 studies were included. 2023 represented the year with the most published articles (28%). Most studies (52%) addressed general neurosurgery, followed by intracranial (24%) and spine surgery (24%). X (formerly Twitter) was the most frequently studied platform (46%), followed by YouTube (38%) and Facebook (30%). The primary purposes of social media use were patient education (36%), evaluation of the impact (22%), healthcare provider education (20%), collaboration (9%), research dissemination (8%), and career development (6%). 64% of studies targeted healthcare professionals, while 36% focused on patients. Sentiment towards social media use was positive in 50% of studies, negative in 19%, and neutral or exploratory in 31%.ConclusionThe literature highlights a notable increase in the use of social media in the neurosurgical field, particularly for education, impact analysis and research distribution. Platforms like X have become central for academic exchange and professional networking. Having a social media presence can be beneficial for neurosurgeons and can positively impact patient reviews, the department’s standing, and may even contribute to academic success. Furthermore, social media facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration and access to educational content.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00701-025-06695-1.

Background The use of social media to communicate and disseminate knowledge has increased exponentially, especially in the field of neurosurgery. ‘Neurosurgery cocktail’ (NC) was developed by a group of young neurosurgeons as a means of sharing didactic materials and clinical experiences via social media. It connects 35.000 neurosurgeons worldwide on multiple platforms, primarily Facebook and Twitter. Given the rising utilization of social media in neurosurgery, the popularity of NC has also increased since its inception. In this study, the authors surveyed the social media analytics of NC for both Facebook and Twitter. Besides, we reviewed the literature on the use of social media in neurosurgery. Methods Facebook and Twitter metrics were extracted through each respective platform’s analytics tools from December 2020 (earliest available date for data analysis) through January 2021. A literature search was conducted using PubMed (MEDLINE) and Scopus databases. Results On Facebook, as of January 2021, the group had a total of 25.590 members (87.6% male), most commonly (29%) between 35 and 44 years of age with over 100 countries were represented. As of January 2021, they had amassed 6457 followers on Twitter. During the last 28 d between December 2020 and January 2021, the account published 65 tweets that garnered a total of 196,900 impressions. Twelve articles were identified in our literature review on the use of social media within the neurosurgical community. Conclusions NC is one of the most widely utilized neurosurgical social media resources available. Sharing knowledge has been broadened thanks to the recent social media evolution, and NC has become a leading player in disseminating neurosurgical knowledge.

Current use of Social Media in Neurosurgery in Spain

Social Media in Neurosurgery: A Systematic Review

Social media use in neurosurgery remains an understudied phenomenon. Our study aims to examine the global membership and engagement of the prominent Neurosurgery Cocktail Facebook group with over 25,000 neurosurgeons and trainees worldwide, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Neurosurgery Cocktail's numbers of members, posts, comments, and reactions were collected from December 2019 to November 2020. Anonymized aggregate data of members' characteristics, including age, sex, and country of origin in November 2020, were also obtained. The most engaging posts in November 2020 were categorized into topics by a majority consensus of 3 reviewers. The average number of members steadily increased from 21,266 in December 2019 to 25,218 in November 2020. In November 2020, 18.8% of members were women, and 71.3% were between 25-44 years old. With members from 100 countries, 77.9% are from low- and middle-income countries, with the highest representation from India, Egypt, and Brazil. After the COVID-19 pandemic declaration, daily engagement peaked in April 2020 with a daily average of 41.63 posts, 336.4 comments, and 1914.6 reactions before returning to pre-pandemic levels. Among the 99 top posts in November 2020, the majority (56.5%) were classified as "interesting cases," with "education-related" as the second-most common topic (16.2%). Neurosurgery Cocktail has shown steady growth since its creation. The COVID-19 pandemic was correlated with a spike in activity without lasting impact. The group demonstrates social media's potential for knowledge exchange and promoting organic international collaborations.

Increased Utilization of Social Media in Neurosurgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic

IntroductionSocial media have become ubiquitous and their role in medicine is quickly growing. They provide an open platform by which members share educational material, clinical experiences, and collaborate with educational equity. Research questionTo characterize the role of social media in neurosurgery, we analyzed metrics of the largest neurosurgical group (Neurosurgery Cocktail), collected relevant data about activities, impact and risks of this groundbreaking technology. Material and methodsWe extracted Facebook metrics from 60-day time sample, including users demographics and other platform-specific values such as active members and number of posts within 60 days. A quality assessment of the posted material (clinical case reports and second opinions) was obtained establishing four main quality-criteria: privacy violation; quality of imaging; clinical and follow up data. ResultsBy December 2022, the group included 29.524 members (79.8% male), most (29%) between 35 and 44 years of age. Over 100 countries were represented. A total of 787 posts were published in 60 days with an average of 12.7 per day. In 173 clinical cases presented through the platform, some issue with privacy was recorded in 50.9%. The imaging was considered insufficient in 39.3%, clinical data in 53.8%; follow up data were missing in 60.7%. Discussion and conclusionThe study provided a quantitative evaluation of impact, flaws and limitations of social medial for healthcare. Flaws were mostly data breach and insufficient quality of case reports. There are actions to correct these flaws that can be easily taken to provide a greater credibility and efficacy to the system.

Social Media in Neurosurgery: Using ResearchGate

Letter to the Editor Regarding “Social Media in Neurosurgery: A Systematic Review”

Letter to the Editor Regarding: Social Media in Neurosurgery: Using ResearchGate

In Reply to Letter to the Editor Regarding “Social Media in Neurosurgery: A Systematic Review”

In Reply to “No Article an Island: Letter in Response to ‘Social Media in Neurosurgery: Using ResearchGate’”

The Current Use of Social Media in Neurosurgery

No Article an Island: Letter in Response to “Social Media in Neurosurgery: Using ResearchGate”