Cost of diagnosis and treatment of syncope in patients admitted to a cardiology unit
Open accessAbstract
AIMS: Despite the large number of hospital admissions due to syncope, information on the in-hospital cost of management of these patients remains incomplete. METHODS AND RESULTS: In order to assess such cost, we analysed the clinical histories of the patients suffering from syncope who were admitted to our Unit of Cardiology in 2003. We determined the length of stay (in days) for each inpatient, the number of diagnostic tests performed, and the various therapeutic procedures undertaken. Two hundred and three patients (mean age 68 +/- 14, 49% female) were admitted because of syncope. Final diagnoses on discharge were drug-induced syncope in 10 patients, vasovagal syncope in 11, syncope secondary to cardiac ischaemia in 18, valvular disease in 4, rapid supraventricular arrhythmia in 20, ventricular arrhythmia in 19, atrioventricular block in 90, and unexplained syncope in 31 patients. Of these 203 patients, 70 (34.5%) had a previous history of cardiac disease. The global cost for all 203 patients was 2,264,979 Euros. The overall cost per patient was 11,158 Euros (range: 1651-31,762) including stay, diagnosis, and treatment. The overall cost of hospital stay per patient was 3718 Euros (range: 1436-5679). The overall cost per diagnosis of the 203 patients was 1141 Euros (range: 155-3577), and the cost of the therapeutic procedures required was 6299 Euros (range: 0-23 115). The most expensive were those cases of syncope secondary to ventricular arrhythmia, the cost of which is 20 times that of drug-induced syncope. CONCLUSION: The cost per diagnosis and treatment of a patient admitted because of syncope varies widely with important differences depending on the specific cause.
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Single-center studies from multiple countries, including Austria, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Spain, confirm similarly high costs associated with the hospital evaluation of syncope.
“Single-center studies from multiple countries, including Austria, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Spain, confirm similarly high costs associated with the hospital evaluation of syncope (122,737,738).”
From 2017 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Patients With Syncope (2017) · cites this paper as [738]
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- Authors
- Barón-Esquivias, G., Moreno, S. G., Martínez, Á., Pedrote, A., Vázquez, F., Granados, C., Bollaín, E., Lage, E., de la Llera, L. D., Rodríguez, M. J., Errázquin, F., & Burgos, J.
- Affiliations
- Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío (ES)
- Venue
- EP Europace
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2006-01-10
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 122-127
- ISSN
- 1099-5129 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-2092
- OpenAlex
- W2154165334
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- EP Europace (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- European Society of Cardiology
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Cardiovascular Syncope and Autonomic Disorders
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare cost, quality, practices
- Keywords
- syncope, hospital costs, length of hospital stay, diagnostic testing, therapeutic procedures, ventricular arrhythmias, atrioventricular block, drug-induced syncope, vasovagal syncope, myocardial ischemia, cost per patient
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Coronary Care Units, Female, Heart Function Tests, Humans, Length of Stay, Male, Middle Aged, Referral and Consultation, Retrospective Studies, Spain, Syncope, Cardiology Service, Hospital, Treatment Outcome, Hospital Costs
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