Transient loss of consciousness: an ongoing challenge

Abstract

This editorial refers to ‘Epidemiological characteristics and diagnostic approach in patients admitted to the emergency room for transient loss of consciousness: Group for Syncope Study in the Emergency Room (GESINUR) study’ G. Baron-Esquivias et al. , on page 869. Transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC) is a common clinical entity that affects patients and engrosses physicians and national healthcare systems. As a symptom, whether syncopal or non-syncopal, T-LOC may lead to physical injury, while reducing patient's self-confidence because of its sporadic and sometimes unpredictable nature. The elucidation of the mechanism and prognostic significance of T-LOC is a challenge for physicians as opposed to the investigation of other symptoms of cardiovascular origin, like chest pain or dyspnoea. From the financial point of view, increased hospitalization rates and the cost of diagnostic tests that are sometimes overused in search for the real cause often make the management of syncope an expensive procedure. Recently, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines1 have made a significant contribution not only to correctly diagnosing T-LOC, but also to defining the risk stratification procedure …