Forearm and Upper-Arm Oscillometric Blood Pressure Comparison in Acutely III Adults

Abstract

When patients’ upper arms are not accessible and/or when cuffs do not fit large upper arms, the forearm site is often used for blood pressure (BP) measurement. The purpose of this study is to compare forearm and upper-arm BPs in 70 acutely ill adults, admitted to a community hospital’s 14-bed ICU. Using Philips© oscillometric monitors, three repeated measures of forearm and upper-arm BPs are obtained with head of bed flat and with head of bed elevated at 30°. Arms are resting on the bed. Paired t tests show statistically significant differences in systolic BPs, diastolic BPs, and mean arterial pressures in the supine and head-elevated positions. Bland—Altman analyses indicate that forearm and upper-arm oscillometric BPs are not interchangeable in acutely ill adults.