Pulmonary Embolus in Syncope Patients: Maybe Not So Common, After All

Contradicting a recent, high-profile study, a meta-analysis suggests that only 1% of syncope patients have pulmonary embolus.

In a recent study published in a prominent journal, the prevalence of pulmonary embolus (PE) was 3.8% in 2584 patients evaluated in the ED for syncope and 17.3% among the 530 who were hospitalized (NEJM JW Gen Med Nov 15 2016). Because these percentages are substantially higher than previous estimates of PE prevalence among syncope patients, investigators conducted a meta-analysis of all other studies addressing this question.

Excluding the above study, the investigators identified 12 relevant studies that included 6608 ED patients and 975 hospitalized patients with syncope. The prevalence of PE was 0.8% in ED patients, and 1.0% in hospitalized patients.

Reviewing Author

Daniel J. Pallin, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education

Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals

Daniel J. Pallin, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education

Pulmonary Embolus in Syncope Patients: Maybe Not So Common, After All

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Reviewing Author