Portrayal of CPR in Television Shows More Realistic

I have been listening, in the car, to recordings of presentations from the 2011 ASBH Annual Meeting.  I really like this one:  "Reality Check: Portrayal of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Orders on ER, House, and Grey’s Anatomy, 2003–2011." (Carla C. Keirns, MD PhD, Stony Brook University; Katherine Keirns, MA, Princeton University; Peter Dashkoff, MD, Stony Brook University; Lynn Hallarman, MD, Stony Brook University).

The classic 1996 study in NEJM showed that television rates were significantly higher than in reality.  Those authors argued that the portrayal of CPR on television may lead the viewing public to have an unrealistic impression of CPR and its chances for success. 

The instant study presented at ASBH 2011 appears to have been very thorough – examining both the videos and the scripts.  The researchers found that, more recently, on some popular shows like HOUSE, success rates are still too high.  But on some other shows, like SCRUBS, the portrayed rate is actually lower than it would be in reality.