bp cuffsize

  • By convention, an appropriate cuff size is a cuff with an inflatable bladder width that is at least 40% of the arm circumference at a point midway between the olecranon and the acromion (see www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=576).9,10 For such a cuff to be optimal for an arm, the cuff bladder length should cover 80% to 100% of the circumference of the arm.1,11 Such a requirement demands that the bladder width-to-length ratio be at least 1:2. Not all commercially available cuffs are manufactured with this ratio. Additionally, cuffs labeled for certain age populations (eg, infant or child cuffs) are constructed with widely disparate dimensions. Accordingly, the working group recommends that standard cuff dimensions for children be adopted (see Table 2). BP measurements are overestimated to a greater degree with a cuff that is too small than they are underestimated by a cuff that is too large. If a cuff is too small, the next largest cuff should be used, even if it appears large. If the appropriate cuffs are used, the cuff-size effect is obviated.12
  • bp cuff size
  • The Fourth Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents

About Dr. Jayaprakash

Asst. Prof. of Pediatrics, ICH. Institute of Child Health. Gov. Medical College Kottayam. Kerala, India.

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