Resource utilisation for syncope presenting to an acute hospital Emergency Department

Abstract

Syncope is a common clinical problem accounting for up to 6% of hospital admissions. Little is known about resource utilisation for patients admitted for syncope management in Ireland. To determine the utilisation of resources for patients admitted for syncope management. Single centre observational case series of consecutive adult patients presenting to an acute hospital Emergency Department with syncope over a 5-month period. Two-hundred and fourteen of 18,898 patients (1.1%) had a syncopal episode, 110 (51.4%) of whom were admitted. Mean length of stay was 6.9days. Sixty-four of these admissions were deemed unnecessary by retrospective review when compared to ESC guidelines. Eighty-five (77.3%) admitted patients had cardiac investigations and 56 (51%) had brain imaging performed. Syncope places a large demand on overstretched hospital resources. Most cases can be managed safely as an outpatient and to facilitate this, hospitals should develop outpatient Syncope Management Units.