34 Measuring Blood Pressure
34 Measuring Blood Pressure
34 Measuring Blood Pressure
I. Introduction.
II. Clinical alert.
III. Equipment.
IV. Preparation of Equipment.
V. Implementation.
VI. Using data scope machine for BP taking .
VII. Using a manual BP sphygmomanometer
VIII. Completing the procedure.
IX. Special Considerations.
X. Documentation
XI. References.
OBJECTIVES
3
INTRODUCTION
• Blood pressure assessment provides insight into a child's general health status and
helps monitor response to treatment.
• Blood pressure should be measured from the child's right arm, unless the child has
atypical aortic arch anatomy .
• Before measuring blood pressure in a child, assess for factors that can affect blood
pressure, such as pain, anxiety, crying, and the child's activity level. Other causes
include hypovolemia, hemorrhage, and sepsis
INTRODUCTION
CLINICAL ALERT
• Don't use an extremity with an incision, trauma, deep vein thrombosis, grafts, or arteriovenous
fistula or with ischemic changes.
• If the child's initial blood pressure is at or above the 90th percentile, perform two additional
oscillometric measurements at the same visit and average them.
EQUIPMENT
• Carefully choose an appropriately sized cuff for the child based on the mid arm circumference.
To choose the appropriate size, make sure that the width of the cuff's inflatable bladder is at
least 40% of the arm circumference.1 The inflatable bladder length should cover 80% to 100% of
the arm circumference.
• You can also refer to the manufacturer's marks on the cuff to determine the correct size or
measure the arm circumference midway between the olecranon of the elbow and the acromion
of the scapula with the shoulder in a neutral position and the elbow flexed at a 90-degree angle.
• If the cuff is too small, select the next largest cuff (even if it appears too large).
ARTERIAL SITES USED TO MEASURE
BLOOD PRESSURE
ICE BREAK
• Lippincott