Key result
Measuring blood pressure on sleeved arms up to 4 mm thick showed no significant difference compared to a bare arm, with mean blood pressure differences within 1.0 mmHg (P>0.5).
Why the study?
Guidelines recommend measuring blood pressure on a bare arm, but measuring over sleeved arms is more convenient in clinical practice, prompting evaluation of its accuracy.
Does measuring blood pressure over sleeved arms affect the accuracy of the measurement compared to a bare arm in adults?
RCT (n=300)
Random order
Does measuring blood pressure over sleeved arms affect the accuracy of the measurement compared to a bare arm in adults?
Measuring blood pressure over sleeved arms up to 4 mm thick does not significantly affect the accuracy of the measurement compared to a bare arm.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May support sleeved-arm BP measurement in practice; leaves open confirmation via randomized trials.
BACKGROUND: It is recommended that blood pressure should be measured on a bare upper arm with an appropriately sized cuff. However, in practice, it is more convenient to measure blood pressure on sleeved arms. AIMS: We aim to examine the effect of sleeved arms on the accuracy of blood pressure measurement. METHODS: Patients aged 18 years or older were enrolled. Participants underwent three blood pressure measurements in each of the following sleeve conditions in random order (bare arm; arm covered with a single-layer cotton shirt sleeve,1 mm; arm covered with two layers sleeve containing a cotton shirt and a polar fabric sweater, 3 mm; arm covered with two layers sleeve containing a cotton shirt and a thick cardigan, 4 mm). RESULTS: Of the 300 participants, 155 (52%) were men. The mean age was 62.9 (10.7) years, and 226 (75%) had hypertension. There were no significant differences in either systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure among the four kinds of sleeve conditions in all the participants (P > 0.5), and the mean blood pressure differences between measurements made on the sleeved arms and bare arm were within 1.0 mmHg. Blood pressure of sleeved arms was positively correlated with that of the bare arm (P < 0.001; r > 0.95), and showed good consistency. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, we concluded that there was no significant effect of sleeved arms on the accuracy of blood pressure measurement by using an electronic oscillometric sphygmomanometer equipped with a conventional cuff.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Ya et al. (2020) reported an RCT. Blood pressure measurement on sleeved arms (up to 4 mm thick) vs. Blood pressure measurement on a bare arm was evaluated on Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Mean difference within 1.0 mmHg, p=> 0.5). Measuring blood pressure on sleeved arms up to 4 mm thick showed no significant difference compared to a bare arm, with mean blood pressure differences within 1.0 mmHg (P>0.5).
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: