Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes - Identifying High-Risk Patients With Syncope—What Hospitalists Need to Know
Authors: Venkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy, Marco L.A. Sivilotti
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2021)

Web ExclusivesFebruary 2021Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes - Identifying High-Risk Patients With Syncope—What Hospitalists Need to KnowVenkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy, MBBS, MSc and Marco L.A. Sivilotti, MD, MScVenkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy, MBBS, MScUniversity of Ottawa and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (V.T.)Search for more papers by this author and Marco L.A. Sivilotti, MD, MScQueen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (M.L.S.).Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M20-8081 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Syncope, defined as a sudden loss of consciousness associated with loss of postural tone, followed by spontaneous complete recovery, accounts for about 1% of emergency department (ED) visits (1). About half of these result in hospital admission. Although about 1 in 10 of these admissions are for a serious underlying cause that was identified in the ED, most are to rule out an occult serious condition, which is estimated to occur in 1 in 30 patients within the next 30 days (1). Because the stakes are high, yet the diagnostic yield of indiscriminate work-ups is low, emergency physicians and hospitalists ...References1. Brignole M, Moya A, de Lange, et al; ESC Scientific Document Group. 2018 ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and management of syncope. Eur Heart J. 2018;39:1883-1948. [PMID: 29562304] doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehy037 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Thiruganasambandamoorthy V, Sivilotti MLA, Le Sage. Multicenter emergency department validation of the Canadian Syncope Risk Score. JAMA Intern Med. 2020;180:737-744. [PMID: 32202605] doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.0288 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Thiruganasambandamoorthy V, McRae AD, Rowe BH, et al. Does N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide improve the risk stratification of emergency department patients with syncope? Ann Intern Med. 2020;172:648-655. [PMID: 32340039] doi:10.7326/M19-3515 LinkGoogle Scholar4. Viau JA, Chaudry H, Hannigan A. The yield of computed tomography of the head among patients presenting with syncope: a systematic review. Acad Emerg Med. 2019;26:479-490. [PMID: 31006937] doi:10.1111/acem.13568 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Thiruganasambandamoorthy V, Rowe BH, Sivilotti MLA. Duration of electrocardiographic monitoring of emergency department patients with syncope. Circulation. 2019;139:1396-1406. [PMID: 30661373] doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.036088 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: University of Ottawa and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (V.T.)Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (M.L.S.).Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M20-8081.Corresponding Author: Venkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy, MBBS, MSc, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, 1053 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4E9, Canada; e-mail, [email protected]ca. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAnnals for Hospitalists - February 2021 David H. Wesorick and Vineet Chopra Annals On Call - Syncope: Who Is at Risk for Poor Outcomes? Robert M. Centor and Venkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy Metrics Cited byManagement of Orthostatic Hypotension in the Hospitalized Patient: A Narrative Review February 2021Volume 174, Issue 2Page: HO2-HO3KeywordsArrhythmiaEmergency departmentHospitalistsHospitalizationsInpatientsIntoxicationLoss of consciousnessOutpatient clinicsPulmonary embolismSyncope ePublished: 16 February 2021 Issue Published: February 2021 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2021 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...