Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Head-up tilt test: a highly sensitive, specific test for children with unexplained syncope

D Alehan1, A Celiker, S Ozme

  • 1Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.

Pediatric Cardiology
|March 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

The head-up tilt test effectively diagnoses unexplained syncope in children, showing high sensitivity and specificity. Treatment with atenolol successfully suppressed syncope in positive responders.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Follow up of a family with asymptomatic compound long QT syndrome mutations.

Genetic counseling (Geneva, Switzerland)·2015
Same author

Clinical and molecular analysis of RASopathies in a group of Turkish patients.

Clinical genetics·2012
Same author

A prenatally sonographically diagnosed conotruncal anomaly with mosaic type trisomy 21 and 22q11.2 microdeletion/DiGeorge syndrome.

Genetic counseling (Geneva, Switzerland)·2010
Same author

Peripheral neuropathy in a patient with D-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria.

Journal of inherited metabolic disease·2009
Same author

MR angiography of left-sided cervical aortic arch with aberrant right subclavian artery.

The British journal of radiology·2007
Same author

Echocardiographic diagnosis of an extremely rare case with double-outlet left ventricle, tricuspid atresia, and two balanced ventricles.

Pediatric cardiology·2007

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Autonomic Nervous System Disorders

Background:

  • Unexplained syncope presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in pediatric patients.
  • The head-up tilt test (HUTT) is a valuable tool for investigating syncope, particularly neurally mediated syncope.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the diagnostic utility of the head-up tilt test in children with unexplained syncope.
  • To determine the sensitivity and specificity of HUTT in this pediatric population.

Main Methods:

  • 20 children (9-18 years) with unexplained syncope and 10 healthy controls underwent a 60-degree head-up tilt test for 25 minutes.
  • Isoproterenol infusion was administered if tilting alone did not induce symptoms.
  • Positive tests were defined by syncope/presyncope with hypotension and/or bradycardia.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • The HUTT elicited symptoms in 75% of patients with syncope versus 10% of controls (p < 0.001), yielding 75% sensitivity and 90% specificity.
  • Symptomatic responses included vasodepressor (67%), cardioinhibitory (6%), and mixed (27%) patterns.
  • Positive HUTT was associated with significant decreases in systolic blood pressure and heart rate (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

  • The head-up tilt test is a noninvasive, sensitive, and specific diagnostic tool for pediatric unexplained syncope.
  • Atenolol treatment demonstrated complete syncope suppression in positive HUTT responders during follow-up.