Introduction

Sudden death is a substantial public health problem, representing a major cause of mortality worldwide. Suitable initial care is essential for a good prognosis of these patients.

Objectives

To assess the knowledge of the 2010 guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among medical students in their final year of undergraduate training.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 217 medical students enrolled in the sixth year of accredited medical schools in Brazil. A structured questionnaire with 27 items was used to record the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants and to assess their knowledge base of the 2010 ILCOR guidelines for CPR.

Results

Only fifty (23.04%) out of 217 students achieved results considered as satisfactory in the written evaluation. The average score obtained was 56.74% correct answers. Seventeen percent of the students had never performed CPR maneuvers and 83.80% had never performed cardioversion or defibrillation.

Conclusions

The knowledge base of medical students regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation is low. Considering these medical students are in their final year of medical school, this study reveals a worrisome scenario.

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