Abstract
Background
Public perceptions of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be influenced by the
media. Nearly two decades ago, a study found that the rates of survival following
CPR were far higher in popular TV shows than actual rates. In recent years, major
strides toward enhanced education and communication around life sustaining interventions
have been made. This study aimed to reassess the accuracy of CPR portrayed by popular
medical TV shows. Additionally, we sought to determine whether these shows depicted
discussions of care preferences and referenced advance directives.
Methods
Three trained research assistants independently coded two leading medical dramas airing
between 2010 and 2011, Grey's Anatomy and House. Patient characteristics, CPR survival
rates, and goals of care discussions were recorded.
Results
CPR was depicted 46 times in the 91 episodes, with a survival rate of 69.6%. Among
those immediately surviving following CPR, the majority (71.9%) survived to hospital
discharge and 15.6% died before discharge. Advance directive discussions only occurred
for two patients, and preferences regarding code status (8.7%), intubation (6.5%)
and feeding (4.3%) rarely occurred.
Conclusions
Both popular TV shows portrayed CPR as more effective than actual rates. Overall,
the shows portrayed an immediate survival rate nearly twice that of actual survival
rates. Inaccurate TV portrayal of CPR survival rates may misinform viewers and influence
care decisions made during serious illness and at end of life.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 18, 2015
Accepted:
August 5,
2015
Received in revised form:
July 22,
2015
Received:
May 21,
2015
Footnotes
☆A Spanish translated version of the summary of this article appears as Appendix in the final online version at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2015.08.002.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
