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To determine risk factors for short-term death in patients discharged from the emergency department (ED) with syncope, researchers reviewed data from Kaiser Permanente Southern California during a 5-year period. Of 22,189 patients with primary ED discharge diagnoses of syncope or near syncope, 321 died within 30 days.
In regression analysis, increasing age was associated strongly with risk for death; hazard ratios were 6.59 for ages 60 to 79 and 11.73 for age ≥80, compared with ages 18 to 59. History of congestive heart failure also was associated with excess risk, and the association varied with age; hazard ratios were 14.30 for ages 18 to 59, 3.09 for ages 60 to 79, and 2.34 for age ≥80. Male sex, recent visit for syncope or near syncope, …