Diagnostic patterns in the evaluation of patients presenting with syncope at the emergency or outpatient department

Patterns of syncope evaluation vary widely among physicians and hospitals. The aim of this study was to assess current diagnostic patterns and medical costs in the evaluation of patients presenting with syncope at the emergency department (ED) or the outpatient department (OPD) of a referral hospita...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Yonsei medical journal 2012, 53(3), , pp.517-523
Main Authors: Kang, Gu Hyun, Oh, Ju Hyeon, Kim, June Soo, On, Young Keun, Song, Hyoung Gon, Jo, Ik Joon, Kim, Su Jin, Bae, Su-Jin, Shin, Tae Gun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Emergency Service, Hospital
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Original
Syncope - diagnosis
의학일반
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Patterns of syncope evaluation vary widely among physicians and hospitals. The aim of this study was to assess current diagnostic patterns and medical costs in the evaluation of patients presenting with syncope at the emergency department (ED) or the outpatient department (OPD) of a referral hospital. This study included 171 consecutive patients with syncope, who visited the ED or OPD between January 2009 and July 2009. The ED group had fewer episodes of syncope [2 (1-2) vs. 2 (1-5), p=0.014] and fewer prodromal symptoms (81.5% vs. 93.3%, p=0.018) than the OPD group. Diagnostic tests were more frequently performed in the ED group than in the OPD group (6.2±1.7 vs. 5.3±2.0; p=0.012). In addition, tests with low diagnostic yields were more frequently used in the ED group than in the OPD group. The total cost of syncope evaluation per patient was higher in the ED group than in the OPD group [823,000 (440,000-1,408,000) won vs. 420,000 (186,000-766,000) won, p
ISSN:0513-5796
1976-2437
DOI:10.3349/ymj.2012.53.3.517