The accurate assessment of blood pressure Essay Example for Free

The accurate assessment of blood pressure Essay The accurate assessment of blood pressure is a critical way to develop the appropriate treatment plan and monitor its course during the process of medical intervention. Blood pressure can be measured three different ways, including the insertion of a catheter into the artery, manually, and automatically. The most common way to assess blood pressure in hospitalized patients is through the use of automatic blood pressure measurement devices. The accuracy of these devices has been questioned in the past, but manufacturers have responded with numerous changes. This study sought to examine the usefulness of these automatic devices. This research compared the automatic and manual blood pressure measurements of 126 patients from a community hospital. Caution was exercised to standardize the procedures and randomize the assignment of the participants to each of the two treatment groups. A number of statistical analyses were utilized to compare the measurements, determine differences, and estimate the accuracy of each assessment approach. A significant difference between manual and automatic assessment was found in the systolic blood pressure measurement. No significant differences were found between the groups for pulse rates or diastolic blood pressure measures. One graphing technique, however, indicated significant differences in all three components of blood pressure measurement. The overall conclusion from this study states that the attempts by manufacturers to improve the accuracy of automatic blood pressure devices have failed to render these machines equal to manual methods. The application of this study’s finding have great value for a number of various clinical settings. Blood pressure measurement is frequently an integral aspect of assessing a patient’s level of health. The importance of training staff to accurately assess this degree of bodily functioning cannot be overstated. The cumulative effect of multiple well-trained medical professionals frequently conducting manual blood pressure measurements appears to be the best course of action to obtain accurate results. Whenever possible, manual blood pressure assessment should be used in place of or to verify the findings of automatic devices.