Social media and dissemination: impressions of fish pedicures following a case of onychomadesis.

Overview

Although the popularity of fish pedicures as cosmetic or routine services and/or tourist attractions has peaked in the past decade, the practice is still trending today and accompanying risks are less well-known by the public. More recently, a case of onychomadesis following fish pedicure has gained interest in both public and dermatologic populations, highlighting the importance of patient education. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the wide reach of the manuscript through social media and news outlets. The majority of social media correspondences have come from Thai accounts whereas news outlets were mostly from the United States and various European or Asian countries. Analyzed by Altmetric score, the report was within the top 5% of all research outputs ever scored by Altmetric. Finally, Google Trend data indicates that fish pedicure interest decreased thereafter to the lowest levels in the past decade after the case report was published, signifying its likely effect on diminishing public interest. This case report and analysis of its news/social media reach emphasize the importance of literature/media outlets in informing patients and the public of adverse effects. As fish pedicures continue to be popular both in the US and overseas, appropriate education of the public remains important in preventing complications.