Propaq Neonatal monitor used with its own single- or with Critikon twin-hose cuffs: does it matter?

Some oscillometric non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) monitors use twin-hose cuffs, whereas others use single-hose cuffs. The incompatibility hinders the transfer of patients from monitors using a single-hose cuff to monitors using twin-hose cuffs and vice versa. In particular, the Propaq Encore uses a single-hose cuff, whereas the Critikon Dinamap uses a twin-hose single-bladder cuff. To facilitate the transfer of neonatal patients between the two monitors, we evaluated whether we could use the Propaq monitor with a Critikon dual-hose cuff connected via a 'Y' piece adaptor to the single lumen hose of the Propaq, rather than using the Propaq's own single-hose cuff. Using an NIBP test simulator, we compared the pressures recorded by the Propaq with the two cuff types over a range of pressures (from 60/30 to 120/80 mmHg), pulse rates (40-240 bpm) and pulse strengths (down to 10% of nominal). The differences between the results recorded with the two cuffs were very small and smaller than the differences between the Propaq and the Critikon. The results suggest that the measurements of pressure with the Propaq are not affected by the use of either a single- or a twin-hose cuff. Users need to be aware that different NIBP monitors may give different pressure readings.