Wrist, auto BP cuffs. Use one? Have advice?

Nurses General Nursing

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Sorry for not lurking before posting but I have a need for input before going out of the country in 3 weeks and I will be stuck with whatever i've got.

I'm an Army medic that needs to take BPs in a noisy, chaotic enviroment in the field. I wear hearing aids and can't find any that will fit small enough to accomodate a stethescope. Besides the awkwardness of securing very small electronic hearing aids from being crushed or giving away a position by whistling, I find the electronic stethescope inacurate as well. Systolic and diastolic are too wide due to sensitivity.

The only way I can see to be field efficient for my patients is a small automatic BP cuff (wrist). It would have to fit into my medic bag and be tough as the soldiers it serves.

Anyone have experience using one? Did you find one was better than the other?

This is going to be at my own expense (as with any gear that I have worth a crap) and I didn't want to be stuck in Europe for a month taking pulse pressures.

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I was having problems with my BP and had to take it several times daily. I purchased one of the wrist cuff ones and it was very inaccurate. If the person moves their had or arm you can get an inaccurate reading. I took it back and went to wal-mart and purchased an automatic BP monitor that goes on the arm and you manually pump it up then it deflates automatically and gives you a reading of the BP and pulse. We tested it at the doctor office and it was very accurate. I think it only cost me about $30. It is lightweight and not very bulky.

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Thanks for the response LPN_mn,

I guess this sort of thing is completely uncommon. I used the search function and didn't come across any posts with this topic. This seems like a busy BB so plenty of people have seen it i guess.

Let me know if you're happy with whatever brand you ended up with if you would. You are one of two responses on two fairly busy BBs. All the medics in my unit take manual BPs so I will be the first.

It's not good to be the first...ya know?

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

I find them to be inaccurate too! But maybe I have some advise for ya!

I work for NW rock medicine...we do first aid at outdoor concerts and let me tell you...try to listen for ANYTHING and all you hear is very loud music! LOL!!!!! My hubby who is a paramedic also has his probelms too...you ausc for heart sounds and it sounds like a disel engine! LOL!!!!!

So, you do it by palp! You won't get the dialstolic, and the systolic will be about 10 higher or lower. Also inaccurate, but a good insight in a pinch! Also, look at your patient...use common sense to dictate their condition. There are other things to use instead of BP :)....

Good luck, and with practice you will be taking palp BP's like a pro!

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Thanks for the response LPN_mn,

I guess this sort of thing is completely uncommon. I used the search function and didn't come across any posts with this topic. This seems like a busy BB so plenty of people have seen it i guess.

Let me know if you're happy with whatever brand you ended up with if you would. You are one of two responses on two fairly busy BBs. All the medics in my unit take manual BPs so I will be the first.

It's not good to be the first...ya know?

The name brand is Reli On manual inflate digital blood pressure monitor. I really like mine. It has a memory that will store several blood pressures. It runs on aa batteries. I think you will find it very useful in the field because you don't have to worry about hearing it is all digital. I have one in my first aid kit also, never know when you might need it.

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I find them to be inaccurate too! But maybe I have some advise for ya!

I work for NW rock medicine...we do first aid at outdoor concerts and let me tell you...try to listen for ANYTHING and all you hear is very loud music! LOL!!!!! My hubby who is a paramedic also has his probelms too...you ausc for heart sounds and it sounds like a disel engine! LOL!!!!!

So, you do it by palp! You won't get the dialstolic, and the systolic will be about 10 higher or lower. Also inaccurate, but a good insight in a pinch! Also, look at your patient...use common sense to dictate their condition. There are other things to use instead of BP :)....

Good luck, and with practice you will be taking palp BP's like a pro!

TriageRN,

I appreciate your response and I want to give you some insight as to the( without wanting to sound arrogant) skills needed to operate as an Army medic on a daily basis.

Most of my time is spent as a triage contact between those medics assigned directly to platoons in what is known as the BAS(Battalion Aid Station) and a field hospital where I would arrange for troops to be transported depending on need. I see 20-30 patients a day in my slowest tempo from all over the battalion as THE person to catch emergent life-threatening conditions in time to transport them to a field hospital. Every troop that comes to the BAS gets a thorough assessment as I assume the worst-case scenario. I start patient assessment the moment I lay eyes on them. I take a hx,consider assessment findings and plan care. If there is someone more senior in rank, I give report and get approval.

The Army medic is trained just below the level of a civillian paramedic and there are plans to train future medics as paramedics. We have an officer that would be much like a civillian medical control most of the time(usually a PA). The plan of care that I suggest is usualy approved by such a person but for the most part the Army relies on me to catch problems.

Army medics start IV lines, perform crico, needle decompression,intubation,draw blood,give injections, etc...........in other words, we are the ER. I am as close to the doctor as most will(hopefully) ever get.

I wanted you to know. Not because I want you to be impressed, but because I want you to feel at ease to talk to me on a medical level.

What you said is soooo true that alot can be gathered from simply looking at a patient but a systolic estimate by pulse pressure seems useless in comparison. If the palpated estimate is 120 and your patient seems disoriented is the BP narrow or wide? Head injury or bleed?

It's for all these reasons that my hearing aids are a liability. I have an electronic stethescope that insulates outside noise to a degree but an automatic cuff would be the most practical.

I do tend to blather on and sometimes fail to communicate because of it. I just want you to know that I appreciate your response and your position as a nurse. I don't mean to make myself seem like God's gift to medicine. I only mean to convey my skill-level properly to stimulate discussion.

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The name brand is Reli On manual inflate digital blood pressure monitor. I really like mine. It has a memory that will store several blood pressures. It runs on aa batteries. I think you will find it very useful in the field because you don't have to worry about hearing it is all digital. I have one in my first aid kit also, never know when you might need it.

Thanks for the intel :rolleyes:

You are the only person that has given me a lead so far. I'm going outside the country in 2 1/2 weeks with whatever I've got at that time.

Most responses are against auto pressures saying that they are unreliable. I get "they're all crap" and "just get an electronic stethescope" in response.

Thank you LPN_mn

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Specializes in Rehab.

My experience so far has been very inaccurate readings with the wrist cuffs.

My mother in law has hypertension and her doctor wanted her to get her bp taken twice per day. I didn't have time to come over and do it each time for her, so she invested in an automatic arm bp monitor. She got it at WalMart for right around $30. Let me tell you... it's wonderful! I would definitely recommend it. We find it to be extremely accurate. It's relatively small, and I think it can either be plugged in the wall, or powered by batteries.

It might be a little bit larger than the wrist cuff, but I think for the accuracy, it is WELL worth it.

Best wishes overseas!

Crystal

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My experience so far has been very inaccurate readings with the wrist cuffs.

My mother in law has hypertension and her doctor wanted her to get her bp taken twice per day. I didn't have time to come over and do it each time for her, so she invested in an automatic arm bp monitor. She got it at WalMart for right around $30. Let me tell you... it's wonderful! I would definitely recommend it. We find it to be extremely accurate. It's relatively small, and I think it can either be plugged in the wall, or powered by batteries.

It might be a little bit larger than the wrist cuff, but I think for the accuracy, it is WELL worth it.

Best wishes overseas!

Crystal

Crystal,

Thanks for the response.

Would you please get the name/model of that cuff for me? I don't know what would be available when I go to buy one so I need all the choices I can get.

Thanks.

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BTW,

ALL responses about the wrist cuffs have been negative. I think most errors are dependant on the technique of a layperson using them but the wrist models are consistently reported dysfunctional by laypersons and professionals alike.

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