Background: Success rates of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in in-hospital cardiac arrest (INCA) and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest OOHCA is reported to be 15% and 3%, respectively. However, people in the general population have high and unrealistic expectations of the success of CPR outcomes. Many studies have attributed these false expectations to be due to misinformation disseminated by the mainstream television media. To this end, we have set to investigate this by performing a survey among the general public of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the general public in the United States (US). Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys were carried out in the general populations of KSA and USA. The US data was collected via an electronic questionnaire delivered on the survey platform SurveyMonkey® and the data was analyzed for the public's expectations and the source from which the information was obtained. Statistical analysis was later done to check the impact of TV and medical dramas on the public's expectations. Results: Out of 402 participants in KSA and 346 in the US, the subjects with accurate expectations of CPR outcomes in OOHCA and INCA settings were 11.4% and 14.7%, respectively, in KSA, and 10.7% and 12.7%, respectively in the US. Most subjects thought that CPR would be successful > 50% of the time, and a quarter of those believe that CPR is effective> 90% of the time! subgroup analysis showed no relation between TV dramas and the general public’s expectations. Conclusion: Public’s expectations about CPR outcomes for INCA and OOHCA settings were largely unrealistic. Only 11.6% and 13%, respectively, had accurate prognoses and realistic expectations and were not influenced by TV medical dramas.

Keywords: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation outcomes, in-hospital cardiac arrest, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, public expectations.