How Should We Monitor Emergency Department Patients Presenting with Syncope?

The Canadian Syncope Risk Score can help identify patients who can be safely discharged after 2 to 6 hours of ED monitoring.

Concern for occult arrhythmias in patients with syncope can lead to prolonged emergency department (ED) monitoring and unnecessary hospitalization. Currently, no risk stratification system exists to determine the optimal duration of ED cardiac rhythm monitoring for these patients.

In a prospective cohort study at six Canadian EDs, researchers stratified adult patients with syncope into low, medium, or high risk for serious 30-day outcomes using the Canadian Syncope Risk Score (CSRS; NEJM JW Emerg Med Nov 2016 and CMAJ 2016; 188:E289). Patients were followed for 30 days after the index ED visit. The primary outcome measure was serious arrhythmic outcomes, including death and interventions for arrhythmia. Serious nonarrhythmic outcomes, such a…

Reviewing Author

Jean Sun Scofi, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsAcademic Life in Emergency Medicine

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Chair of the IGNITE! Subcommittee)

Jean Sun Scofi, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsAcademic Life in Emergency Medicine

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Chair of the IGNITE! Subcommittee)

How Should We Monitor Emergency Department Patients Presenting with Syncope?

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Reviewing Author