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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Simultaneous Electrocardiography Recording and Invasive Blood Pressure Measurement in Rats
Published on: January 31, 2019
Finger-cuff and oscillometric versus intra-arterial blood pressure measurements: a prospective method comparison
Alina Bergholz1, Marie Wohlert1, Linda Krause2
1Department of Anesthesiology, Center of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Background:
Arterial blood pressure monitoring is mandatory in all patients having surgery. Intra-arterial blood pressure monitoring is the gold standard but is invasive and associated with complications. In most surgical patients, blood pressure therefore is monitored with intermittent upper-arm cuff oscillometry. Finger-cuff systems allow noninvasive continuous blood pressure monitoring, but their performance remains insufficiently studied. We therefore aimed to simultaneously compare finger-cuff and oscillometric with intra-arterial blood pressure measurements in patients having low- to moderate-risk noncardiac surgery.
Methods:
In this single-centre prospective method comparison study, we simultaneously measured finger-cuff (test method), oscillometric (test method), and intra-arterial (reference method) blood pressures in patients ≥18 yr old having elective low- to moderate-risk noncardiac surgery with general anaesthesia at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. We quantified the agreement using Bland-Altman analyses.
Results:
In total, 76 patients with 2577 triplets of blood pressure measurements were analysed. For mean blood pressure, the mean difference ± standard deviation of the differences (95% limits of agreement) was -2.8 ± 6.9 (-16.3 to 10.7) mm Hg between finger-cuff and intra-arterial measurements and 2.1 ± 8.9 (-15.3 to 19.5) mm Hg between oscillometric and intra-arterial measurements.
Conclusions:
In patients having low- to moderate-risk noncardiac surgery, the agreement between finger-cuff and intra-arterial blood pressure measurements was comparable with the agreement between oscillometric and intra-arterial blood pressure measurements.
Clinical Trial Registration:
NCT06602089.
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Prepare for the Procedure:
01:30Equipments Used To Measure Blood Pressure
This invasive approach involves cannulating a peripheral artery. During each cardiac contraction, pressure generates mechanical motion within the catheter, transmitted through rigid, fluid-filled tubing to a transducer. This transducer converts mechanical motion into electrical signals displayed as waveforms on a monitor. An automatic flushing system prevents blood backflow. Due to the potential risk of unexpected arterial blood loss, this method is primarily used in intensive...
01:28Special considerations while measuring blood pressure
Monitoring Both Arms:
Monitoring BP in both arms during the initial assessment is advisable, as the systolic value may differ by five to ten mm Hg between arms. For subsequent BP assessments, use the arm with the higher reading.