Invasive blood pressure (IBP) is the gold standard method for BP monitoring in critically ill patients. However, due to practical difficulties and complications, noninvasive methods may offer an alternative. We aim to evaluate an automatic oscillometry-based wrist BP monitor in critically ill patients compared to IBP. Forty five adult patients were included, and systolic, diastolic and mean BP (SBP, DBP, MBP) were simultaneously measured by IBP in the radial artery and by non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) monitoring using the OMRON RS7 automatic wrist monitor. NIBP and IBP (mean ± SD) were: SBP 114 ± 18 vs 130 ± 18; DBP 63 ± 13 vs 63 ± 13; MBP 80 ± 13 vs 86 ± 15 mmHg. Bland-Altman analysis of the differences (NIBP-IBP) mean bias was: SBP -16; DPB 0.5 and MBP -6. The OMRON wrist monitor may not be sufficiently accurate compared to IBP in critically ill patients.
Keywords: Critically ill; noninvasive; oscillometry; wrist monitor.