Atomoxetine for suppression of vasovagal syncope

Clin Auton Res. 2023 Feb;33(1):23-28. doi: 10.1007/s10286-022-00905-x. Epub 2022 Nov 19.

Abstract

Objective: Vasovagal syncope (VVS) is a common clinical condition with few effective medical therapies. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of atomoxetine in suppressing syncope in patients with recurrent VVS.

Methods: This was a retrospective, open-label, observational case series of 12 patients taking atomoxetine for suppression of recurrent vasovagal syncope. We compared syncope frequency in the 1 year before atomoxetine and while subjects were taking atomoxetine. We used novel applications of the Poisson distribution to describe the results as a collection of n = 1 studies.

Results: There were 12 subjects, eight female, with a mean age 47 ± 22 years and a mean Calgary Syncope Symptom Score of 2 (diagnostic of vasovagal syncope). The patients received a mean dose of atomoxetine of 66 ± 16 mg (1.06 ± 0.21 mg/kg). The mean follow-up period was 1.21 ± 1.01 years. While taking atomoxetine, 11/12 patients appeared to improve and 7/12 had no syncope in follow-up (p = 0.0046). The annualized syncope frequency decreased from a median 5.5 (IQR 4, 6.75) syncope per year to 0 (IQR 0, 0.88) syncope per year (p = 0.002, Wilcoxon rank-sum test). According to the Poisson distribution, 7/12 subjects significantly improved with p values of < 0.0001 to 0.0235, 3/12 did not faint but had too brief follow-up times to detect significance, and 2/12 did not improve significantly.

Conclusions: In this case series, atomoxetine was a promising oral agent for the prevention of vasovagal syncope. The Poisson distribution permits individual patient-level assessment of improvement and detects insufficient follow-up despite apparent improvement.

Keywords: Atomoxetine; Faint; Norepinephrine transport inhibition; Vasovagal syncope.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Atomoxetine Hydrochloride
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Syncope
  • Syncope, Vasovagal* / diagnosis
  • Tilt-Table Test / methods

Substances

  • Atomoxetine Hydrochloride