Blas MJ, Juárez OA

Language: Spanish
References: 20
Page: 273-277
PDF size: 221.97 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Background: Measurement of blood pressure is an important part of routine physical examination, however different arm positions affect its values, mainly in supine posture.
Objective: To assess arm position effect in supine posture on blood pressure measurement with automatic noninvasive oscillometric device.
Patients and method: Prospective study using a representative sample of patients from an emergency department of a second level hospital. All patients were included consecutively with informed consent. Investigators performed blood pressure measurements with an automated noninvasive device. Brachial blood pressure was measured in supine position at left and right arms in two positions: perpendicular and parallel to torso, with a 22 x 12 cm bracelet. Descriptive statistics, t Student, and Bland-Altman test was used to analyze concordance between both results. Significance was considered with a p value lower than 0.05.
Results: 104 patients were included (51% women), ranged from 20 to 85 years old (mean 54 years). Blood pressure registered values for arm in parallel and perpendicular to torso posture had statistic significance: systolic (p los 0.0001), diastolic (p los 0.0001), and mean (p los 0.0001). Bland-Altman analysis indicated that distances between mean values and the limit of agreement for two positions ranged from 12.5 mmHg (mean arterial pressure) to 14.6 mmHg (systolic pressure).
Conclusion: Measurements of arterial blood pressure in parallel and perpendicular positions in the supine posture are not clinically interchangeable.

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