[Explanation] According to statistics, about 6 to 7 people in every thousand people in China have syncope every year, and 35% of people have experienced syncope at least once in their lives.
On December 10, Tang Yijia, the deputy chief physician of the Department of Cardiology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, was asking about the patient's past history of syncope.
On the same day, the first syncope clinic in Sichuan and Chongqing was officially opened at Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital.
[Explanation] What is syncope?
It is understood that syncope is a transient loss of consciousness caused by transient whole brain blood hypoperfusion. Compared with loss of consciousness caused by other reasons, it has the characteristics of rapid, transient, self-limiting, and complete recovery.
However, it should be noted that patients often mistakenly interpret the rapid recovery after loss of consciousness as "no loss of consciousness". In fact, even if you awaken immediately after fainting or nearly fainting, it is also a loss of consciousness.
[Concurrent] Tang Yijia, Deputy Chief Physician, Department of Cardiology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital
(Syncope) The main incidence of it is concentrated in relatively young young patients, which is a relatively high-incidence age group.
The second age group is the age group of onset of elderly people after 70 years of age.
Its mechanism is actually the sudden cessation of blood supply to the entire brain, which carries certain medical terms in it, so it is difficult for ordinary people to accurately determine whether this has occurred in a standardized, medically defined syncope.
It is difficult for the patient and the patient's family to distinguish between syncope, aura of syncope, and coma. It is difficult for him to distinguish between this situation.
[Explanation] It is precisely because of the various types of loss of consciousness that many patients and their families lack medical orientation and often blindly seek treatment in neurology, surgery, cardiology and other departments, but the detection rate of the cause of syncope is low.
Tang Yijia said that setting up a special syncope clinic can provide patients with convenient and professional one-stop syncope diagnosis and treatment services.
[Concurrent] Tang Yijia, Deputy Chief Physician, Department of Cardiology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital
The syncope clinic serves as an "outpost", which makes a preliminary triage and judgment for the patient, and then provides a more accurate secondary triage for the subsequent diagnosis and treatment of the patient.
For such syncope patients, he often needs to ask his medical history in more detail, and it takes a relatively long time for a patient to see a doctor.
If this kind of patient is placed in a general outpatient clinic, there may be some conflicts with other patients who have a relatively short visit time.
Therefore, I think such triage is more conducive to the treatment, diagnosis and treatment of patients.
[Explanation] It is difficult for ordinary patients to accurately distinguish the symptoms of syncope, and it is even less clear which department should be assigned.
So, what kind of situation should the patient encounter at the syncope clinic?
[Concurrent] Tang Yijia, Deputy Chief Physician, Department of Cardiology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital
Mainly based on whether you have a brief loss of consciousness (judging syncope).
If you are just dizzy without loss of consciousness, you may go to the general neurology clinic.
If these are accompanied by palpitations, see the cardiology clinic.
If you have a brief loss of consciousness, you don’t know it for a moment. If you fall or did not fall, as long as you don’t know at that moment, it is considered as a brief loss of consciousness. In this case, you should see the syncope clinic. .
Chen Xuanbin reports from Chengdu
Editor in charge: [Ji Xiang]