Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37971641›Full record

SynthesisClinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society2023

Serotonin reuptake inhibition for the prevention of vasovagal syncope: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Priya Raj, Lucy Lei, Panagiota Flevaris, Satish Raj, Robert Sheldon

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
3.2field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Serotonin does not seem to play a major role in eliciting vasovagal syncope.Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society · 2025
    Article
  4. Serotonin and vasovagal syncope.Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society · 2024
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Priya RajDepartment of Cardiac Sciences, Libin Cardiovascular Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, GAA02 HRIC Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada.
Lucy LeiDepartment of Cardiac Sciences, Libin Cardiovascular Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, GAA02 HRIC Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada.
Panagiota Flevaris2nd Department of Cardiology, Attikon University Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Satish RajDepartment of Cardiac Sciences, Libin Cardiovascular Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, GAA02 HRIC Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada.
Robert SheldonDepartment of Cardiac Sciences, Libin Cardiovascular Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, GAA02 HRIC Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada. sheldon@ucalgary.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-3463-4082
University of Calgary · CAUniversity General Hospital Attikon · GR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeVasovagal syncope is a common clinical condition that lacks effective medical therapies despite being associated with significant morbidity. Current guidelines suggest that serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors might suppress vasovagal syncope but supporting studies have been small and heterogenous. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors to prevent syncope in patients with recurrent vasovagal syncope by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies.

methodsRelevant randomized controlled trials were identified from the MEDLINE and Embase databases without language restriction from inception to August 2022, and ClinicalTrials.gov. All studies were conducted in clinical syncope populations and compared the benefit of serotonin versus placebo. Weighted relative risks were estimated using random effects meta-analysis techniques.

resultsThree studies (n = 204) met inclusion criteria. Patients were 42 ± 13 years of age and 51% female. Serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors were found to substantially reduce the likelihood of a patient having at least one recurrence of vasovagal syncope [relative risk (RR) 0.34 (0.20-0.60), p < 0.01] with minimal between-study heterogeneity (I

conclusionsSerotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors may be effective in preventing syncope induced by head-up tilt testing and in syncope in the community in randomized, double-blinded clinical trials.

Indexed as

Syncope, VasovagalFemaleHumansMaleSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsSerotoninSyncopeTilt-Table TestSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsSerotoninAnxietyMeta-analysisRandomized clinical trialsSerotoninSystematic reviewVasovagal syncope

Identifiers

PMID37971641
OpenAlexW4388726632

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.