Automatic blood pressure cuffs...

[MSDeltaFlt]

do any of u use them? what do you think of them and how accurate are they, also...just out of curiosity does any1 know how they work?

My flight company uses them, but only for trends.

I like them, but you never trust them with blind faith.

There isn't a NIBP made that is accurate. Even the manufacturer will say in the literature that it is not accurate, and shouldn't be considered accurate.

As far as how they work, it depends on the manufacturer. They vary. You'll have to look at the specific model's specs.

 

[Katie]

we them on our lifepack 12's, but not a separate machine. from what i've seen they are *usually* in the right area. i usually try to get my initial manually though, and check if the results don't seem reasonable

 

[makphisto]

We don't use autocuffs, we do it all manually. Then we get the pt to the ER and they slap an autocuff on them. :glare:

 

[mikie]

so does anyone know how they work?

 

[Ridryder911]

so does anyone know how they work?

They sense the arterial pulsations and thus get the numbers...

R/r 911

 

[paramedix]

Some of our buses used to have them...long ago, but they have all been taken off the vehicles.

One of our main reasons for removing them from the buses, they cost too much to repair and maintain.

Some of our ECG monitors have the built in NIBP, but I havn't seen seen them in use. I personally prefer the manual system for pre-hospital care.

Regarding calibration of the system, I am sure that the bumps in the vehicle do affect the system much more than the system in hospital.

 

[firemedic7982]

Nibp

I think all are in agreement that Manual BP's are the way to go.

NIBP's are for the most part innacurate, and only decent for trending.

HOWEVER that being said, not all Monitors are created equal. This is one more of those cases where the more expensive the equipment, the more reasearch went into its inception.

The Zoll series monitors are in a lot of cases more acurate than a manual. Ive used LP12's, as well as many other models. Both systems I work for currently use the Zoll M series monitor. The NIBP on this monitor is superbly accurate, and uses a complex series of mathematical calculations to come up with the end result. I run an average of 12-18 calls a shift ( up till recently with my move to a slower station) and Have a lot of experience in this monitor, and plenty of trends to back its accuracy. Thats not to say that it has its moments of confusion like any piece of machinery, but checked against my manual bp's it is highly accurate, and trustworthy.

Cheers!

 

[fireemslife]

gonna have to go with manual, you can use them easier in a rig,they wont break, and if something happens to them their cheaper to replace, plus i find autos take longer.

 

[TNEMT06]

Personally, I don't like the automatic BP cuffs, I'd rather use the manual cuff; but we do carry them on our trucks.

 

[CrazyCanuck]

I prefer auscultation. All of our LP12's are fitted with the auto NIBP's & I do use them occasionally. I like the old rule....treat the pt, not the machine.

 

[mikie]

What is NI for the BP part (or however it's spelled)?

I think it's more for stable pt's in hospital setting for trending. especially when in a moving ambulance- it could be inaccurate from a bump in the road (but so could auscultation).

 

[JPINFV]

NI=Non-Invasive

 

[mikie]

NI=Non-Invasive

I didn't realize how invasive BPs are... Maybe we should think of removing it from the BLS curriculum- only for ALS providers!

No, just kidding. But I get what they mean- and the pt probably doesn't know the difference.

 

[JPINFV]

I didn't realize how invasive BPs are... Maybe we should think of removing it from the BLS curriculum- only for ALS providers!

No, just kidding. But I get what they mean- and the pt probably doesn't know the difference.

Contrast NIBP to an arterial blood pressure to realize where the NI comes from (in case someone honestly doesn't get it).

 

[skyemt]

i think it 's important to realize why many EMT's want to use the automatic cuff... because they do not feel they are skilled at taking BP's...

at JEMS, Bob Page gave a lecture just on using the Stethoscope and taking BP's... and was really interesting to see how many do not know the correct technique, not what frequency range the korotkoff sounds are in, nor did many know the difference between between the diaphragm and the bell..

i have seen many emt's improperly place the cuff, tuck the diaphragm of the scope underneath the lower part of the cuff, which will give an inaccurate number...

also, where is the arm? bent or straight? above or below the heart? is the patient sitting up or supine? all of these will affect the BP readings you get...

the automatic machines are not the only things subject to wild inaccuracies... if you are not sure, next time on the way back from a call, have a few different people take bp's on someone... especially with newer emt's, who haven't taken thousands of bp's, you might be surprised how large a range you can get.

 

[Kimmy Schaub]

The have the auto BP cuffs in the ER at the hospital I work @ but I've never heard of them being real popular in field work. As far as I know, they are very reliable, but i think its a bit easier in field work to just use the mechanical ones because there is more to them

 

[Explorer127]

The have the auto BP cuffs in the ER at the hospital I work @ but I've never heard of them being real popular in field work. As far as I know, they are very reliable, but i think its a bit easier in field work to just use the mechanical ones because there is more to them

same with the ER i volunteer at....we use the auto BP's..

unless we get some really high or low number, then the nurse confirms it with a manual bp, SOMETIMES..

 

[mdkemt]

Our company uses them as well. I hate them and find them to not be accurate at all. But the nurses love them for flights seeing as most flights are a min of 2 hours. I would always trust your ears over a machine. Treat your patient not the machine!

 

[Belgian EMT/nurse]

We have LP12 and HP monitors.. We use the automatic cuffs most off the time and my experience is that they are pretty accurate. But on bumpy rides it's useless and my biggest point of ignorance is that most of the time it takes forever to take bp. So I'm thinking about taking a stethoscoop and cuff and go manuel in the future.

 

[Topher38]

My dad has an automatic BP cuff. And I always tell him to get rid of it. I don't like putting the trust in a machine that runs on AA batteries. My dad has hypertension too so everytime he wants to take his b/p I do it for him =]

The only time I would ever trust one is when the pt is in the hospital and they have some super mega bp cuff. =/