Syncope as a health risk for soldiers - influence of medical history and clinical findings on the sensitivity of head-up tilt table testing

Hans-Joachim Gilfrich; Lena Marie Heidelmann; Franziska Grube; Hagen Frickmann; Sven Andreas Jungblut

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Syncope as a health risk for soldiers - influence of medical history and clinical findings on the sensitivity of head-up tilt table testing

RESEARCH | Updated：2026-03-12

- Syncope as a health risk for soldiers - influence of medical history and clinical findings on the sensitivity of head-up tilt table testing
- Military Medical Research Vol. 3, Issue 1, Pages: 34-42(2016)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.The Practice of Dr. Jungblut, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
  2.The Flight Medicine Clinic at Fassberg, German Armed Forces, Faßberg, Germany
  3.The Department of Tropical Medicine at the Bernhard Nocht Institute, German Armed Forces Hospital of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
  4.The Department of Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany
- Author bio：
  
  *: frickmann@bni-hamburg.de
- Funds：
- DOI：
  CLC：
- Published：2016-03
- Accepted：
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Hans-Joachim Gilfrich, Lena Marie Heidelmann, Franziska Grube, et al. Syncope as a health risk for soldiers - influence of medical history and clinical findings on the sensitivity of head-up tilt table testing[J]. Military Medical Research, 2016, 3(1): 34-42.
DOI：

Hans-Joachim Gilfrich, Lena Marie Heidelmann, Franziska Grube, et al. Syncope as a health risk for soldiers - influence of medical history and clinical findings on the sensitivity of head-up tilt table testing[J]. Military Medical Research, 2016, 3(1): 34-42. DOI：

摘要

Abstract

Background:

Syncope is a relevant health problem in military environments. Reliable diagnosis is challenging. Tilt table testing is an important tool for syncope diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether signs such as prodromal symptoms

co-morbidity

frequency of syncopal events

body length

body mass index

and electrocardiography abnormalities can be used to predict the success of tilt table testing at diagnosing syncope.

Methods:

Data from 100 patients with histories of syncope or pre-syncope

who were diagnosed using head-up tilt table testing

were retrospectively analyzed in a cross-sectional analysis. The diagnostic procedure was based upon a modified version of the Westminster protocol without any pharmacological provocation.

Results:

Patients showing pathological reaction patterns during tilt table testing suffered from prodromal symptoms

such as dizziness and sweating

significantly more often. The patients reported more injuries resulting from syncopal events and more previous syncopal events

and the prevalence of co-morbidity was greater among patients presenting negative findings during tilt testing. An asthenic-leptosomal physique was not confirmed as a risk factor for syncopal events as is the case for idiopathic arterial hypotension. However

patients with pathological reaction patterns during tilt table testing were significantly taller. This finding was detected for both females and males. No significant predictors were found in the electrocardiogram patterns of patients showing syncope during tilt table testing.

Conclusions:

Frequency of prior syncope and prodromal symptoms

and increased body length with an otherwise good state of health influence the predictive value of tilt table testing for syncope diagnosis. In particular

if these factors are present

tilt table testing should be considered part of the diagnostic algorithm for soldiers with recurrent syncope.

关键词

Keywords

references

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Syncope as a health risk for soldiers: Influence of medical history and clinical findings on the sensitivity of head-up tilt table testing

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