Quality stratification and platform differences of antibiotic usage popular science on short video platforms: A cross-sectional study based on 711 videos from TikTok, Kuaishou, Xiaohongshu, and Bilibili

Background The abuse of antibiotics and drug resistance are serious issues, and the public needs reliable information on their use. Short videos are a key source of health information, yet there's a lack of systematic evaluation of their quality across platforms. Objective This study assesses antibiotic use video quality on TikTok, Kuaishou, Xiaohongshu, and Bilibili, comparing platform differences and analyzing author types, interaction indicators, and video quality. Methods A cross-sectional study identified 771 short videos on "Antibiotic use" from four platforms using Chinese keywords from November 2 to 7, 2025, analyzing characteristics like platform type, author type, and engagement metrics, while evaluating video quality with mDISCERN, JAMA criteria, and GQS, and comparing quality indicators across platforms and author types using statistical tests. Results The quality of short science videos on antibiotics is low to moderate, with TikTok scoring highest and Xiaohongshu lowest; differences are significant (P < 0.001) except for GQS scores. Professionals make up 26.85% of authors and score significantly higher than non-professionals (P < 0.01). Engagement metrics are positively correlated but weakly related to quality indicators, indicating that popularity doesn't reflect video quality. Conclusion There is a quality gap in antibiotic information on short video platforms, with high-quality content from few creators lacking visibility. To address this, platforms should implement quality measures, enhance professional content supply, and improve public health literacy to foster a better ecosystem for antibiotic education and resistance prevention.