2020 Volume 37 Issue 3 Pages 788-794
Among subjects with transient loss of consciousness (TLOC), 90% of cases consist of syncope, epilepsy, or psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES). However it is not easy to distinguish these causes of TLOC. We investigated clinical information from patients with TLOC as assessed by both epileptologists and cardiologists. Subjects included 65 patients older than 15 years. Syncope occurred in 31 cases, epilepsy occurred in 13 cases, and PNES occurred in 4 cases; 17 cases were of unknown etiology. Many cases TLOC experienced convulsions. We divided cases into a minor seizure group and a generalized seizure group and examined both groups. Syncope was more common in the minor seizure group, and epilepsy was more common in the generalized seizure group, with significant differences between groups. The present study suggests that a differential diagnosis between syncope and epilepsy may be possible based on whether convulsions do or do not occur with TLOC.
