Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Brazilian medical television shows: a descriptive and quality assessment study

To assess the accuracy of Brazilian television depictions of cardiopulmonary arrest, their management, and outcomes and to compare the observed outcomes with prior data from observational studies.

Investigators screened episodes, identified cardiac arrest scenes, collected relevant information, and assessed outcomes. Cardiac arrest scenes were then analyzed using the American Heart Association guidelines. The primary outcome was survival with favorable neurologic outcomes. Secondary outcomes were the return of spontaneous circulation and the number of Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support deviations in each event.

Fifty-nine cardiac arrests were included in the study. Death occurred in 55.9% of patients, and return of spontaneous circulation was obtained in 54.2%. Survival rate was 44.1%, and 42.4% of the patients had favorable neurologic outcomes. Adherence to Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support guidelines did not demonstrate a significant impact on survival with favorable neurological outcomes, as evidenced by comparable odds ratios (0.86 [95%CI 0.22 - 2.36] for 3 - 5 deviations and 0.69 [95%CI 0.07 - 5.93] for ≥ 6 deviations using 0 - 2 deviations as reference). Television shows depicted a significantly higher proportion of favorable outcomes than real-world Brazilian cohorts for out-of-hospital and in-hospital scenarios (50% versus 20.5%, p = 0.107; and 43.3% versus 17.4%, p < 0.0001, respectively).

In Brazilian television shows, the portrayal of cardiopulmonary resuscitation is inaccurate and tends to overstate the likelihood of favorable outcomes following cardiac arrests.