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Aims: To assess whether plasma troponin concentration measured by a sensitive assay can predict 1-month and 1-year serious outcome, or all-cause death in patients presenting with syncope to the emergency department (ED)., Methods: Prospective cohort study of admitted adult patients presenting to the ED after an episode of syncope who had plasma troponin measured 12 h after syncope using the ARCHITECT STAT sensitive troponin I assay (Abbott Diagnostics). Primary endpoints were the composite endpoint of serious outcome or all-cause death at 1 month and 1 year., Results: Between 1 March 2007 and 22 July 2008, 338 of 528 patients admitted from the ED with syncope had plasma troponin concentrations determined. Troponin concentrations were above the limit of detection in 261 (77%) patients. Patients numbering 120 (36%) had a troponin concentration ≥0.03 ng/ml (99th percentile of normal reference population), and 66 (20%) had concentrations ≥0.05 ng/ml (local diagnostic threshold for myocardial infarction). The proportion of patients with a composite serious outcome increased across patients stratified into quintiles based on peak troponin concentration at 1 month (0%, 9%, 13%, 26%, 70%) and at 1 year (10%, 22%, 26%, 52%, 85%)., Conclusions: The majority of patients admitted from the ED with syncope have detectable plasma troponin concentrations. Peak troponin concentration was associated with increasing risk of serious outcome and death, and this risk increases with higher troponin concentrations. Troponin may have a future role in the risk stratification of patients with syncope.

Hyponatraemia is the most common electrolyte abnormality, encountered in up to 30% of inpatients. Inappropriate management can have serious implications for patients; including demyelinating disease, coma and death. We have used a case report to identify the common problems, and provide useful strategies in management for which these can be avoided. The aim was to provide a framework which clinicians can adopt, in order to improve clinical practice and provide optimum outcome for the patient.

Background: Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) may be a good prognostic marker in syncope. The aim of this study was to establish whether there is any change in BNP in association with an acute presentation., Methods: Patients aged ≥60 years admitted following presentation to the emergency department (ED) with syncope were eligible for prospective enrolment. Serial BNP measurements were performed on admission and at intervals up to 4 weeks after presentation., Results: Between 8 March 2010 and 14 April 2010, 31 patients were recruited and were suitable for analysis, including seven patients who returned to the ED at 4 weeks. Mean BNP rose from a baseline of 167.8 ng/ml to a peak of 303.2 ng/ml at 48 h and then returned to baseline at 4 weeks. BNP ratio reached 2.3 (more than twice admission level) at 18 h and peaked at 2.4 at 1 week before returning to baseline at 4 weeks., Conclusions: BNP seems to rise from baseline to a peak between 18 h and 1 week after an acute syncopal episode in many patients. The reasons for this are not clear.

Aims: To primarily assess the value of troponin I to identify acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and second, to predict 1-month serious outcome or all-cause death in patients presenting with syncope to the Emergency Department (ED)., Design: Prospective cohort study of all adult patients presenting to the ED after an episode of syncope., Methods: In admitted patients, plasma troponin I was measured 12 h after syncope, and in discharged patients, between 12 h and 7 days following discharge. Primary endpoints were the diagnosis of AMI, and the composite endpoint of serious outcome or all-cause death at 1 month., Results: Over an 8-month period, 289 patients were recruited. Troponin I was obtained in 186 admitted patients and was elevated in 13 (7%), and obtained in 103 discharged patients and was raised in only one (1%). Four patients had an AMI (1.4%) and all had ischaemic electrocardiographic (ECG) changes on their presenting ED ECG (ST segment deviation or pathological Q waves) that were 100% sensitive and 72% specific for AMI with a 100% negative predictive value. Seven of the 14 patients (50%) with a raised troponin I had a serious outcome that did not include AMI, or all-cause death compared with 16 of the 267 patients (6%) without a raised troponin (p<0.0001)., Conclusions: AMI is infrequent (1.4%), and estimation of troponin I provides little additional benefit to the presenting ED ECG in identifying patients with syncope due to AMI. Troponin I should not be used to rule out AMI in adult patients presenting with isolated syncope. Troponin I may predict 1-month serious outcome or all-cause death in syncope.

Aims: To assess the value of a near-patient brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) test to predict medium term (3 month) serious outcome for adult syncope patients presenting to a UK emergency department (ED)., Methods: This was a prospective cohort pilot study. Consecutive patients aged > or = 16 years presenting with syncope over a 3 month period were eligible for prospective enrolment. All patients who were medium or high risk according to our ED's existing syncope guidelines underwent near-patient BNP testing using the Triage point of care machine., Results: 99 patients were recruited. 72 of 82 high and medium risk patients underwent BNP measurement. 11 patients had a serious outcome, 9 of whom had BNP measured. In 25 (35%) patients, BNP was > or = 100 pg/ml, and in 3 of these it was > 1000 pg/ml. 6 of the 25 patients (24%) with a BNP > 100 pg/ml, and all 3 patients with a BNP > 1000 pg/ml, were in the serious outcome group. BNP was raised over 100 pg/ml in 6 of the 9 serious outcome patients having a BNP measured (66%), and over 1000 pg/ml in 3 (33%)., Conclusions: This early work suggests that BNP may have a role in the risk assessment of syncope patients in the ED. Further work is required to see how BNP interacts with other clinical variables. Near-patient BNP testing may be shown to be an independent predictor of adverse outcome either alone or incorporated into existing syncope clinical decision rules and scores in order to improve their sensitivity and specificity. Further studies are required to evaluate this.

Objective: A meta-analysis of studies of the usefulness of raised serum prolactin in diagnosing generalised tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) in patients presenting to the accident and emergency (A&E) department after a single episode of syncope., Methods: A three part question was defined. Medline, EMBASE, PubMed, the Cochrane Library were searched to identify relevant studies. Studies were evaluated for eligibility and quality and data extracted to calculate sensitivity (SN), specificity (SP), and likelihood ratios (LR)., Results: Of 13 relevant studies only three met the criteria for evaluation. If a serum prolactin concentration is greater than three times the baseline when taken within one hour of syncope, then in the absence of test "modifiers": (1) the patient is nine times more likely to have suffered a GTCS as compared with a pseudoseizure positive LR = 8.92 (95% CI (1.31 to 60.91)), SN = 0.62 (95% CI (0.40 to 0.83)), SP = 0.89 (95% CI (0.60 to 0.98)) and (2) five times more likely to have suffered a GTCS as compared with non-convulsive syncope positive LR 4.60 (95% CI (1.25 to 16.90)), SN = 0.71 (95% CI (0.49 to 0.87)), SP = 0.85 (95% CI (0.55 to 0.98))., Conclusion: A positive test result is highly predictive of a GTCS, however a negative test result does not necessarily exclude a seizure. Serum prolactin should be measured in patients presenting to the A&E department within an hour of a syncopal episode, unless the cause is immediately obvious.