Ma. Brown et al., MEASUREMENT OF BLOOD-PRESSURE DURING PREGNANCY - EVALUATION OF THE TRICUFF, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 33(1), 1993, pp. 48-50
Previous surveys have revealed that a major source of error in measuri
ng blood pressure in pregnant women is failure to use a large cuff whe
n necessary. We have tested the hypothesis that this problem could be
overcome by using a single cuff containing automatically selected infl
ation bladders of appropriate size, the TriCUFF(R). We compared readin
gs obtained with the TriCUFF(R) with those obtained using standard adu
lt or large (obese) cuffs in 51 pregnant women. Thirty nine had normal
upper arm circumferences (< 34 cm) and 12 increased arm circumference
s (greater-than-or-equal-to 34 cm). The TriCUFF(R) overestimated stand
ard cuff systolic and diastolic (phase IV) readings by 2 (0-4) mmHg (m
ean, 95 % confidence limits) (p < 0.05). There was no difference betwe
en readings for women with large arms. Agreement between readings by b
oth methods was acceptable for clinical practice in most cases. Use of
the TriCUFF(R) could significantly improve the accuracy of blood pres
sure recording in pregnant women.