ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Syncope management in the UK and Republic of Ireland
1 University of Edinburgh, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, Edinburgh, UK
2 Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Correspondence to:
Dr M J Reed, Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, 51 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4SA, UK; matthew.reed{at}luht.scot.nhs.uk
Aims: To establish the current practice of emergency department (ED) management of syncope in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Methods: A survey of "major" or "intermediate" size ED in the UK and Republic of Ireland conducted by postal and telephone questionnaire.
Results: 177 (70%) ED responded. 32 (18%) ED have syncope guidelines, which are based on a range of existing guidelines. 97 ED (55%) have an observation ward or clinical decision unit and 48 (49%) of these admit syncope patients to these units. 32 ED (18%) have access to a specialist syncope outpatient clinic. This is most likely to be run by general practitioner specialists (43%) or general physicians (24%). 81% of ED felt that improved research-based guidelines would be useful when managing syncope patients.
Conclusion: The ED management of syncope patients in the UK and Republic of Ireland is varied. Only 18% of ED have specific guidelines for managing this difficult condition and only 18% have access to a specialist syncope clinic. A robust consensus UK syncope guideline is clearly required.
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