[Dizziness, syncope, and other consciousness loss in children]

Episodes of loss of consciousness and dizziness are frequent in children and adolescents. The causes are quite variable, most are harmless, some more worrisome. The correct diagnosis can most often be made by recognition of the characteristic sequence of the clinical symptoms and signs. History taking therefore is the most important diagnostic step, and additional work-up is only rarely required. We will review the clinical entities, whose knowledge is useful for pediatricians and general practitioners, since they belong, together with seizures, head injuries and headaches, to the neurological problems seen frequently in emergency consultations. They will be listed according to the age at which they are most often observed, and not according to frequency or severity. Seizure disorders have been excluded from the discussion, and only few and rare types of migraines have been included, since epilepsy and migraine are topics that will be discussed by other speakers during this symposium.