Investigation of risk factors and clinical characteristics of COVİD-19 patients admitted to the emergency department with syncope

Investigation of Risk Factors and Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients Admitted to the Emergency Department with Syncope Clinical experience since the beginning of the pandemic has demonstrated that COVID-19 is a condition that can cause syncope. The mechanisms causing syncope have all been studied in a small number of patient investigations. Our study, which was conducted with a larger number of patients than other studies, aims to examine the causes of the increased incidence of syncope during the pandemic and the clinical conditions that affect mortality in patients with syncope. Our study was conducted with 700 patients aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of COVID-19 who were admitted to the emergency department of Mersin University Medical Faculty Hospital, between 15.06.2020-15.08.2021. Our study is a retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive observational study conducted at a single center. A total of 115 patients were included in the study, including 55 patients with syncope diagnosed with COVID-19 as the study group and 60 patients without syncope diagnosed with COVID-19 as the control group. In our study, the primary objective was to identify syncope risk factors, and the second objective was to identify syncope-related mortality risk factors. A total of 57 female and 58 male patients were chosen for the study, and their average age was 64.7 years. Syncope occurred 7.8% of the time in COVID-19 patients, which is much more frequently than in the general population. Risk factors for syncope in COVID-19 patients were found to be a low respiratory rate, accompanying nausea, low potassium and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and high procalcitonin levels. Accompanying pulmonary embolism, accompanying tachypnea and low saturation, low hemoglobin and hematocrit, high leukocyte, troponin-I, urea, creatinine, CRP and sedimentation levels, the need for supplemental oxygen, and the development of a shock clinic at presentation or follow-up were found to be the reasons for increased mortality in syncope patients diagnosed with COVID-19. In our study, the incidence of syncope was found to be significantly increased in COVID-19 patients. Early diagnosis of asymptomatic patients with COVID-19 who present to the emergency department with syncope can prevent the spread of COVID-19. Keywords: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Emergency department, Mortality, Syncope