(As seen on TV: observational study of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in British television medical dramas)

The public's knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be derived from, among other things, television drama. In this week's BMJ Dr Patrick Gordon and colleagues from South Cleveland Hospital, Middlesbrough report the findings of the their study of the portrayal of CPR in 64 episodes of 'Casualty', 'Cardiac Arrest' and 'Medics'! A total of 52 on-screen cardiac arrests occurred in 40 of the 64 episodes reviewed and the authors found that a quarter of patients in these TV medical dramas who received CPR survived, which is fairly comparable to real life. However, they also noted that patients on television are more likely to be younger and suffer cardiac arrest as a result of trauma than is the case in the real world.

Gordon and colleagues conclude that the overall survival rate of patients after CPR in British television medical dramas seems to be more realistic than in American programmes, such as 'ER', 'Chicago Hope' and 'Baywatch' which tend to portray over-optimistic survival rates (over three-quarters of patients pull through).

Contact:
Dr Patrick Gordon, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, South Cleveland Hospital, Middlesborough