Investigation and diagnostic formulation in patients admitted with transient loss of consciousness.
Ir Med J
; 110(5): 563, 2017 May 10.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28737304
ABSTRACT
Several commonly completed tests have low diagnostic yield in the setting of transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC). We estimated the use and cost of inappropriate investigations in patients admitted with T-LOC and assessed if these patients were given a definitive diagnosis for their presentation. We identified 80 consecutive patients admitted with T-LOC to a university teaching hospital. Eighty-eight percent (70/80) had a computerized topography (CT) brain scan and 49% (34/70) of these scans were inappropriate based on standard guidelines. Almost half (17/80) of electroencephalograms (EEG) and 82% (9/11) of carotid doppler ultrasound performed were not based on clinical evidence of seizure or stroke respectively. Forty-four percent (35/80) of patients had no formal diagnosis documented for their presentation. Inappropriate investigation in T-LOC is very prevalent in the acute hospital, increasing cost of patient care. In addition, there is poor diagnostic formulation for T-LOC making recurrent events more likely in the absence of definitive diagnoses.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Inconsciência
/
Tomografia Computadorizada por Raios X
/
Eletroencefalografia
/
Hospitalização
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Guideline
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Ir Med J
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article