Browsing by Author "Verkhovsky, Anna"

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    Blood pressure measurement in the obese patient: a comparison between non-invasive proximal forearm and radial arterial blood pressure measurement
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Verkhovsky, Anna; Smit, Marli; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Anesthesiology and Critical Care.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: ABSTRACT Background: South Africa has a high prevalence of obese adults. When these (obese) individuals present to a health care facility, blood pressure measurement will play an important role during routine medical evaluation. Accurate non-invasive blood pressure monitoring is a challenge in obese individuals secondary to inaccurate readings associated with inappropriate cuff size, structural differences of the upper arm as well as short upper arm length. Our aim was to identify an accurate, affordable, minimally invasive and low-risk blood pressure measurement modality in obese patients. Methods: This study included 30 patients with a body mass index of greater or equal to 30 kg/m2 presenting for surgery or staying in a High Care Unit at Tygerberg Hospital. In all of these patients, an intra-arterial line was included as part of their routine care. We compared the non-invasive (mean, systolic and diastolic) blood pressures readings from the proximal forearm, with the gold standard, being intra-arterial blood pressure readings. Results: There was poor agreement between the mean intra-arterial blood pressure measurement and the noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) measured at the forearm. The mean NIBP measured at the forearm overestimated the intra-arterial blood pressure reading by 2% (±8.1 %. P 0.031). The computed upper and lower levels of agreement between the 2 methods ranged from -19.3 to 15.2%. Systolic NIBP measurements at the forearm over-estimated the IABP measurements by 0.9% (P 0.295). Upper and lower levels of agreement between the 2 methods ranged from -16.4 to 14.7%. Larger discrepancies between the two methods were observed for diastolic blood pressure measurements with a mean difference of -5.8% (P <0.0001). Conclusion: We cannot recommend that the forearm NIBP reading be used as an accurate, non-invasive and cost effective substitute to measure blood pressure in obese patients.