Blood pressure measurement during pregnancy: auscultatory versus oscillatory methods.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the equivalence of auscultatory and oscillatory blood pressure measurements.


METHODS
Inner-city prenatal clinic.


METHODS
Eighty-one women in their 2nd to 9th month of pregnancy.


METHODS
Participants were assessed for systolic and diastolic blood pressures on left and right arms using auscultatory (manual) and oscillatory (electronic) methods. A correlational study design was used.


METHODS
Differences in pressures related to arm and method of measurement.


RESULTS
The oscillatory method produced consistently higher readings for both systolic (F[1,80] = 45.9, p < 0.001) and diastolic (F[1,80] = 25.79, p < 0.001) pressure readings. Correlations between estimates generally treated as substitutable all fell below the recommended level of 0.80 for measurement equivalence.


CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest the need for caution when interpreting blood pressure estimates as interchangeable. This is particularly important when patients move from clinic settings, where auscultatory methods predominate, to inpatient settings, where oscillatory methods of measurement are used.
Green
L A
LA
St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT, USA.
Froman
R D
RD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001314:Auscultation; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000517:prevention & control; D009991:Oscillometry; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000517:prevention & control; D011295:Prenatal Care