A Prospective Evaluation of Pediatric Patients with Syncope

Tally Lerman-Sagie*, Masza Mukamel, Marc Mimouni, Pinchas Lerman, Leonard Blieden

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fifty-eight children with syncope were evaluated prospectively to determine the characteristics of syncope in the pediatric age group and the yield of various diagnostic tests. The age at first syncope ranged from 0.5 to 15 years. Twenty-five children presented after a single episode and 33 after multiple episodes. Ten had a history of breath-holding spells. Nineteen had a family history of syncope. A diagnosis was established in 53 patients (91%): vasodepressor (31), cardioinhibitory (13), tussive (3), hyperventilation (2), and mixed syncope (4). In five patients (9%), the cause remained unknown. The diagnosis was established from the history in 45 cases, by a positive oculocardiac reflex in 11, and by the head-up tilt test in four. We conclude that the cause of most cases of pediatric syncope is vasodepressor or cardioinhibitory and can be diagnosed by good history-taking. Costly evaluations are rarely necessary.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)66-70
Number of pages5
JournalClinical Pediatrics
Volume33
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1994

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A Prospective Evaluation of Pediatric Patients with Syncope'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this