title: Blood pressure measurements in the nursing home: are they accurate?
abstract: To examine the accuracy of blood pressure (BP) measurements in the nursing home, a trained observer (physician) and nursing home staff (NHS) measured BP for 146 nursing home residents on two separate occasions. Using the physician as the reference standard for measuring BP, the NHS: 1) significantly underestimated systolic BP; 2) significantly overestimated diastolic BP; and 3) had a high frequency of terminal digit preference for zero. These errors resulted in the NHS misclassifying hypertension in 21% of patients.
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC.
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Stoneking
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Hla
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Samsa
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Feussner
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D012015:Reference Standards; D014481:United States