Summary
An approach to the diagnosis and treatment of syncope in the emergency department
Sagristá Sauleda J
Affiliation of the authors
SERVEI DE CARDIOLOGIA. HOSPITAL UNIVERSITARI VALL D’HEBRON. BARCELONA
DOI
Quote
Sagristá Sauleda J. An approach to the diagnosis and treatment of syncope in the emergency department. Emergencias. 2007;19:273-82
Summary
Syncope, defined as a transient lost of conciousness with spontaneous
recovery in a short period of time due to an acute diminution
of cerebral blood flow, is a frequent cause of admission in the
emergency room. Syncope has multiple etiologies with very different
pronostic implications. The role of the emergency room physician is,
firstly, to differentiate syncope from nonsyncopal causes of lost of consciousness,
and, secondly, to try to establish the most probable etiological
diagnosis and its pronostic relevance by means of relatively simple
and easily available tools. In this paper we describe the pathophysiology
of syncope, its diagnostic approach and the criteria for hospital admission.
Finally, some therapeutic recommendations are provided.