Internal and emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Substance abuse in emergency department patients with unexplained syncope.
Current data suggest that up to 60 % of patients presenting to the ED with syncope leave the hospital without a defined etiology. Although a relationship between syncope and substance abuse has been described, no study to date has looked at the relationship between syncope of unknown etiology and substance abuse in patients presenting to the ED. The objective of the study was to determine whether a history of or current substance abuse is associated with an increased incidence of syncope of unknown etiology in ED patients. ⋯ Among patients with a history of, or current substance abuse, 45 % had unexplained syncope, as opposed to 29 % of patients without such a history (p = 0.01). Our results suggest that prior and current substance abuse is associated with increased incidence of syncope of unknown etiology. Patients evaluated in the ED or even hospitalized with syncope of unknown etiology may benefit from substance abuse screening and possibly detoxification referral.
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Comment Letter
The factors affecting success rate of emergency intubation.