Continuous noninvasive finger blood pressure during controlled hypotension. A comparison with intraarterial pressure

The Finapres is a noninvasive monitor that continuously displays the arterial waveform, pulse rate, and systolic, mean, and diastolic blood pressure. We determined its bias (mean prediction error) and precision (mean absolute error), relative to directly measured radial arterial blood pressure, in 16 otherwise healthy patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery under hypotensive anesthetic techniques. Data were recorded during three contiguous epochs: 20 min of normotension; 30 min following the initiation of hypotension; 20 min of hypotension. The Finapres demonstrated a systolic, mean, and diastolic bias (+/- standard deviation) of 3.6 +/- 12.3, 5.2 +/- 10.8, and 8.3 +/- 9.4 mmHg, respectively. There were no significant differences in systolic bias among the epochs, whereas mean and diastolic bias were both greater during the hypotensive epoch, compared to the normotensive epoch. In 2 of the 16 patients, systolic and mean arterial pressure bias exceeded 20 mmHg. Finapres precisions of systolic, mean, and diastolic blood pressures were 9.8 +/- 9.0, 8.7 +/- 7.6, and 10.4 +/- 8.2 mmHg, respectively. Precisions among the epochs were not significantly different. When Finapres pressures were "corrected" by subtracting the baseline difference between Finapres and oscillometrically determined mean pressure, bias decreased significantly. The correction process did not improve precision. The Finapres closely tracked changes in blood pressure, even in the presence of a large bias. In most patients, the Finapres is a useful continuous noninvasive blood pressure monitor. Periodic calibration of the Finapres by the difference between Finapres and oscillometrically determined mean arterial pressure is recommended.