Syncope in pulmonary embolism: a retrospective cohort study.
Accident & emergency medicine
cardiology
general medicine (see internal medicine)
thromboembolism
Journal
Postgraduate medical journal
ISSN: 1469-0756
Titre abrégé: Postgrad Med J
Pays: England
ID NLM: 0234135
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Dec 2021
Dec 2021
Historique:
received:
20
07
2020
revised:
24
08
2020
accepted:
04
09
2020
pubmed:
12
10
2020
medline:
1
1
2022
entrez:
11
10
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
To determine the prevalence of syncope or collapse in pulmonary embolism (PE). A retrospective cohort study was conducted. We examined the frequency with which syncope or collapse (presyncope) occurred alone or with other symptoms and signs in an unselected series of 224 patients presenting to a district general hospital with PE between September 2012 and March 2016. Confirmation of PE was by CT pulmonary angiogram in each case. Our cohort of 224 patients comprised 97 men and 127 women, average age 66 years with age range of 21-94 years. Syncope or collapse was one of several symptoms and signs that led to a diagnosis of PE in 22 patients (9.8%) but was never the sole presenting feature. In descending order, these other clinical features were hypoxaemia (17 patients), dyspnoea (12), chest pain (9), tachycardia (7) and tachypnoea (7). ECG abnormalities reported to occur more commonly in PE were found in 13/17 patients for whom ECGs were available. Patients with PE presenting with syncope or collapse were judged to have a large clot load in 15/22 (68%) cases. Syncope was a frequent presenting symptom in our study of 224 consecutive patients with PE but was never the sole clinical feature. It would be difficult to justify routine testing for PE in patients presenting only with syncope or collapse.
Identifiants
pubmed: 33040028
pii: postgradmedj-2020-138677
doi: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-138677
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
789-791Informations de copyright
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Competing interests: We have read and understood the BMJ Group policy on declaration of interests and declare there are no competing interests. We have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf and declare no support from any organisation for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the 3 previous years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.