Compliance of the Lower Leg Site in Blood Pressure Monitoring: A Comparative Study with the Gold Standard
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: When blood pressure cannot be measured in the upper arm, the lower leg site is usually used. AIM: To compare the agreement between noninvasive and invasive blood pressure values for each site (arm, thigh, and ankle) in intensive care patients. METHODS: This prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary intensive care unit. The arm, thigh, and ankle were used for a noninvasive blood pressure measurement. All noninvasive measurements were performed in both sitting and semi-sitting positions. Blood pressure values at each site were compared with intra-arterial measurements. The agreement between the invasive and noninvasive measurements was evaluated by a Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS: A total of 348 paired blood pressure values were collected from 58 patients (mean age 42.29 ± 13.90, 44.8% female). The agreement between invasive and noninvasive blood pressure measurements in the arm and thigh site was acceptable. The agreement between invasive and noninvasive readings of diastolic and mean blood pressure in the supine position (bias ± SD of 3.21 ± 8.48, and 2.34 ± 7.08 mmHg, respectively; P < 0.05) and systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure in the semi-sitting position (bias ± sd of 2.36 ± 8.74 vs 3.93 ± 8.57 and 3.41 ± 7.15 mmHg, respectively; P < 0.05) was not acceptable. CONCLUSION: The agreement between invasive and noninvasive readings of systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure was worse at the ankle than that observed at the arm and the thigh.
Authors: AR Gürsoy, EG İsmailoğlu
Institutions: Antalya Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Bakırçay Üniversitesi
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7117447463