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Home > Emergency Medical Minute > Podcast # 460: Hunting for PE in Syncope
Podcast: Emergency Medical Minute
Episode:

Podcast # 460: Hunting for PE in Syncope
Category: Science & Medicine
Duration: 00:02:38
Publish Date: 2019-04-22 11:00:00
Description:

Author:  Michael Hunt, MD

Educational Pearls:

 

  • Most causes of syncope are benign
  • Pulmonary embolism can result in syncope and is life threatening
  • A recent study of Canadian and US ED patients with syncope showed that 0.4% of patients had a PE at 30 day follow-up
  • PE should always be considered in cases of syncope but overall is a rare cause

 

Editor’s note: this study puts to rest a previous study from 2016 that reported a rate of PE in syncope as high as 1 in 6 in patients admitted to syncope - which was met with much skepticism based on clinical practice.

References

Roncon L, Zuin M, Casazza F, Becattini C, Bilato C, Zonzin P. Impact of syncope and pre-syncope on short-term mortality in patients with acute pulmonary embolism. Eur J Intern Med. 2018 Aug;54:27-33. doi: 10.1016/j.ejim.2018.04.004. Epub 2018 Apr 11. PubMed PMID: 29655808.

Summarized by Will Dewispelaere, MS3 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD
Total Play: 0

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