Management of syncope: clinical and economic impact of a Syncope Unit
Open accessAbstract
AIMS: Aim of this observational study is to evaluate the clinical performance of a Syncope Unit, in order to assess whether the implemented organization really improves syncope management. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study enrolled patients with unexplained syncope who were consecutively referred to our Syncope Unit, either as outpatients or during hospitalization, in a 2-month period. The design of this observational study consists in three phases: a retrospective analysis of their clinical management in the 9 months prior to the first attendance at the Syncope Unit (phase one), their subsequent clinical management in the Syncope Unit (phase two) and a 9-month follow-up (phase three). The retrospective analysis of phase one showed that 25% of patients had already been hospitalized without diagnosis. After Syncope Unit evaluation, diagnosis was obtained in 82% of patients, with 15% of patients indicated to pacing. In the follow-up, 23% of patients experienced a syncopal recurrence. Our analysis indicated an 85% reduction of hospital costs in the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: The clinical and economic analysis of the three phases of our study demonstrates that a Syncope Unit allows an improved management of patients with syncope.
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Specialized syncope evaluation units may lead to reduced health service use and increased diagnostic rates.
“Specialized syncope evaluation units may lead to reduced health service use and increased diagnostic rates (114–119).”
From 2017 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Patients With Syncope (2017) · cites this paper as [119]
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Developed in collaboration with, European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), Heart Failure Association (HFA), and Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), societies, E. B. T. F., European Society of Emergency Medicine (EuSEM), European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM), European Union Geriatric Medicine Society (EUGMS), American Geriatrics Society (AGS), European Neurological Society (ENS), et al. (2009) · European Heart Journal · doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehp298 · Cited by 2,040 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Ammirati, F., Colaceci, R., Cesario, A., Strano, S., Della Scala, A., Colangelo, I., De Santo, T., Toscano, E., Ricci, R., & Santini, M.
- Affiliations
- ASL Roma (IT)
- Policlinico Umberto I (IT)
- Medtronic (Italy) (IT)
- Ospedale San Filippo Neri (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Ammirati, F.
- Venue
- Europace
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2008-03-25
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 471-476
- ISSN
- 1099-5129 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-2092
- OpenAlex
- W2137109695
- Cited by
- 73
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 3.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- EP Europace (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Cardiovascular Syncope and Autonomic Disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Vestibular and auditory disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Failure Treatment and Management
- Keywords
- syncope, syncope unit, unexplained syncope, syncope management, hospital costs, syncope recurrence, cardiac pacing
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Costs and Cost Analysis, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Hospital Units, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pacemaker, Artificial, Recurrence, Retrospective Studies, Syncope, Guidelines as Topic, Clinical Audit
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