Syncope Best Practices: A Syncope Clinical Practice Guideline to Improve Quality

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether implementation of a standardized clinical practice guideline (CPG) for the evaluation of syncope would decrease practice variability and resource utilization.

Design: A retrospective review of medical records of patients presenting to our practice for outpatient evaluation of syncope before and after implementation of the CPG. The guideline included elements of history, physical exam, electrocardiogram, and "red flags" for further testing.

Setting: Outpatient pediatric cardiology offices of a large pediatric cardiology practice.

Patients: All new patients between 3 and 21 years old, who presented to cardiology clinic with a chief complaint of syncope.

Interventions: The CPG for the evaluation of pediatric syncope was presented to the providers.

Outcome measures: Resource utilization was determined by the tests ordered by individual physicians before and after initiation of the CPG. Patient final diagnoses were recorded and the medical records were subsequently reviewed to determine if any patients, who presented again to the system, were ultimately diagnosed with cardiac disease.

Results: Of the 1496 patients with an initial visit for syncope, there was no significant difference in the diagnosis of cardiac disease before or after initiation of the CPG: (0.6% vs. 0.4%, P = .55). Electrocardiography provides the highest yield in the evaluation of pediatric syncope. Despite high compliance (86.9%), there were no overall changes in costs ($346.31 vs. $348.53, P = .85) or in resource utilization. There was, however, a decrease in the variability of ordering of echocardiograms among physicians, particularly among those at the extremes of utilization.

Conclusions: Although the CPG did not decrease already low costs, it did decrease the wide variability in echo utilization. Evaluation beyond detailed history, physical exam, and electrocardiography provides no additional benefit in the evaluations of pediatric patients presenting with syncope.

Keywords: Best Practices; Practice Guidelines; Quality Improvement; Syncope.