title: Finapres: a noninvasive device to monitor blood pressure.
abstract: Often, obstetric patients are not evaluated in preliminary studies during the development of new medical devices. The purpose of this study was to compare the Finapres digital probe with oscillometric and arterial line devices for recording blood pressures in low- and high-risk pregnant women. A total of 38 women were studied, including 24 with pregnancy-induced hypertension, two with chronic hypertension, two with cardiac disease, and ten who had no risk factors but requested epidural catheter placement. The comparison of Finapres or oscillometric recordings with direct arterial values confirmed that systolic recordings were imprecise for both devices (r = 0.80 and r = 0.64, respectively). Diastolic recordings (Korotkoff sound, phase 4) from the Finapres were accurate compared with the arterial values (r = 0.84). The Finapres performed at least as reliably as the oscillometric monitor in assessing blood pressure in our pregnant population and provided continuous measurements. When very accurate systolic recordings are needed, arterial catheter placement may be necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa.
authors.forename: K B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kiefert
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Knuppel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000295:instrumentation; D015924:Blood Pressure Monitors; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling; D004867:Equipment Design; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000175:diagnosis*