title: [Diagnostic value of ambulatory daily blood pressure profile: comparison with measurements performed by a laboratory technician].
abstract: Office blood pressure measured by a physician is often higher than under the usual ambulatory conditions. Therefore, alternative methods such as self-assessment of blood pressure and ambulatory blood pressure measurements are increasingly promoted. The purposes of this study, covering 613 referred patients, were (1) compare office blood pressure with continuous ambulatory blood pressure measurements, (2) compare office blood pressure with blood pressure values recorded by a trained technician in the absence of a physician and (3) analyze the interpretation of the blood pressure profiles by the referring physicians. Office blood pressure exceeded average ambulatory blood pressure in 94% of the patients and also the blood pressure values recorded by a technician in 88%. According to the office blood pressure there were 523 patients with elevated blood pressure, 20 with isolated increased systolic blood pressure and 70 with normal blood pressure. Office blood pressure was higher (systolic +17 +/- 18 and diastolic +9 +/- 12 mm Hg, p less than 0.0001) than the average value of the ambulatory blood pressure profile, whereas the latter did not differ significantly from blood pressure values measured by the technician (systolic -1 +/- 12 and diastolic -2 +/- 9 mm Hg). 190 of the 523 (36%) patients had white-coat hypertension according to the ambulatory blood pressure measurements. Conventional blood pressure measurements by the technician yielded a high sensitivity (84%) and specificity (87%) for distinguishing white coat hypertension. Analysis of the questionnaires showed that opinions about normal limits of ambulatory blood pressure vary considerably.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Universitäts-Poliklinik, Inselspital Bern.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ostini
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Allemann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Courten
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Weidmann
mesh_terms: D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods*; D015924:Blood Pressure Monitors / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017056:Medical Laboratory Personnel; D009819:Office Visits; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
vernacular_title: Diagnostischer Wert ambulanter Blutdrucktagesprofile: Vergleich mit Messungen durch eine Laborantin.