Role of early symptoms in assessment of syncope in elderly people: results from the Italian group for the study of syncope in the elderly.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the ability of specific early symptoms to predict cardiac and noncardiac syncope in elderly people.


METHODS
Multicenter cross-sectional observational study.


METHODS
Inpatient geriatric acute care departments and outpatient clinics.


METHODS
Two hundred forty-two patients with syncope (mean age 79+/-8) consecutively referred for evaluation of transient loss of consciousness to any of six clinical centers participating in the Italian Group for the Study of Syncope in the Elderly (GIS Study).


METHODS
All patients were assessed according to European Society of Cardiology Syncope guidelines and interviewed about symptoms and signs present before syncope.


RESULTS
One hundred seventy-four of 242 patients (75.4%) had noncardiac syncope, and 34 (14.7%) had cardiac syncope; 165 patients (71.1%) related symptoms before the loss of consciousness. When elderly patients with syncope were stratified for the presence and absence of symptoms, noncardiac syncope showed the highest prevalence of symptoms (75.3%, P<.01). Awareness of being about to faint, sweating, blurred vision, and nausea are more prevalent in noncardiac syncope. Dyspnea is more prevalent in cardiac syncope. All symptoms except awareness of being about to faint and weakness had good specificity, but sensitivity was low for all symptoms considered. Multivariate regression analysis adjusted for sex and age indicated that nausea (relative risk (RR)=3.7, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.26-11.2), blurred vision (RR=3.5, 95% CI=1.34-9.59), and sweating (RR=2.8, 95% CI=.21-6.89) were predictive of noncardiac syncope. Dyspnea (RR=5.5, 95% CI=1.0-30.2) was the only symptom predictive of cardiac syncope.


CONCLUSIONS
The data show that symptoms such as nausea, blurred vision, and sweating are predictive of noncardiac syncope, whereas only dyspnea is predictive of cardiac syncope in elderly people.
Galizia
Galizia
G
Department of Clinical Medicine, Cardiovascular Science, and Immunology, Università degli Studi di Napoli 'Federico II,' Naples, Italy.
Abete
Pasquale
P
Mussi
Chiara
C
Noro
Gabriele
G
Morrione
Alessandro
A
Langellotto
Assunta
A
Landi
Annalisa
A
Cacciatore
Francesco
F
Masotti
Giulio
G
Rengo
Franco
F
Marchionni
Niccolò
N
Ungar
Andrea
A
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013575:Syncope / Q000175:diagnosis*