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Clinico-Etiological Profile of Pediatric Syncope: A Single Center Experience

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Abstract

Objective

To describe the clinical profile of children with syncope.

Methods

Hospital records were reviewed for clinical and laboratory details of childrenpresenting withreal or apparent syncope. Five diagnostic categories were identified: neurocardiogenic syncope (NCS), psychogenic pseudosyncope (PPS), cardiac, neurological and indeterminate.

Results

30 children (aged 4 to 17 years)were included. The commonest cause of syncope was NCS (63.3%), followed by PPS (13.3%), cardiac (10%), neurological (10%) and indeterminate (3.3%). Exercise, loud noise or emotional triggers and family history were associated with cardiac etiology, and electrocardiogram (ECG) was diagnostic in the majority. Children with PPS and cardiacsyncope had frequent episodes when compared with other groups. Indiscriminate antiepileptic use was found in 5 children, including two cardiac cases.

Conclusion

Frequent recurrences of syncope may suggest PPS or cardiac cause. Cardiac etiology may be readily identified on history and ECG alone.

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Funding

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

    Sweta Mohanty

  2. Department of Neurology, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

    C. P. Ravi Kumar

  3. Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

    Sowmyashree Mayur Kaku

  4. Valmark Apas, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560 076, India

    Sweta Mohanty

Authors
  1. Sweta Mohanty
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  2. C. P. Ravi Kumar
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  3. Sowmyashree Mayur Kaku
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Contributions

SM: drafting of manuscript, analysis of data, review of literature; RK: acquisition and interpretation of data, final approval of paper; SMK: interpretation of data, critical revision of paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sweta Mohanty.

Ethics declarations

Ethics clearance: Institutional ethics committee; Aster CMI Hospital; No IEC/033/2019-20, dated March 16, 2019.

Competing interests: None stated.

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Mohanty, S., Kumar, C.P.R. & Kaku, S.M. Clinico-Etiological Profile of Pediatric Syncope: A Single Center Experience. Indian Pediatr 58, 134–136 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-021-2128-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-021-2128-3

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