[Syncope and work. STePS study (Short Term Prognosis of Syncope)]

Recurrent syncope is a common medical problem responsible for 3-5% of emergency department (ED) accesses and 1-6% of hospital admissions. If syncope occurs in a subject working in a critical safety task, the consequences of this event might be very dangerous for the worker, colleagues, others or for the environment. Therefore, syncope management is a major problem for occupational medicine, converning the general safety at work.

To evaluate the syncope events in a group of potential workers aged 18 to 65 years; to evaluate the symptoms preceding syncope and the presence of associated illnesses and recurrent events.

This study is part of the prospective study STePS (Short Term Prognosis of Syncope), and included 305 consecutive patients (aged 18-65 years, female 56%) who had syncope as a main symptom and presented at ED of four general hospitals in the Milan area, Italy, between the 23rd of January and 30th of June 2004. The 24% of subjects were hospitalized. In 21% the syncope occurs suddenly without any preceding symptom. The 67% of subjects didn't have any important illness at the time. 50% of subjects had recurrent syncope. In four subjects another syncope occurred in a 10 day follow-up.

occupational medicine should consider syncope scrupulously. Proper diagnostic management is important to permit a correct evaluation of work safety issues.