Background. Knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is essential part of the first aid skill. Constant attention is given to education in CPR mainly among adolescents. The aim of our epidemiological study was to asses the actual level of theoretical knowledge in CPR. Methods and Results. We have developed a simple questionnaire including 17 items with 4 possible answers, just one correct. The questionnaire was distributed to students of middle schools excluding those with medical specialisation. Total 796 students from 26 classrooms participated, 784 (98.5 %) of questionnaires could be used for evaluation. Excluding the knowledge in the purpose of resuscitation mask and telephone number of Emergency service, the number of correct answers was bellow 30 %, even in items, which did not change for many years (position of the victim’s body during resuscitation, frequency of artificial ventilation). Conclusions. Our results demonstrate that in spite of the effort to increase the level of knowledge in CPR in laymen, the actual level of knowledge is low and more frequent repetition of courses should be considered. In the future, we shall evaluate the effectiveness of new educational film.

        Key words: cardiopulmonary resuscitation, basic life support.