Back to basics

I just always use a manual. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I still prefer the manual ones. Just my 2 cents worth!

Just wondering, if you checked a BP with an electrical device and it appeared very low but the patient was looking fine and talking etc, would you then check again with electric sphyg or a manual one. A nurse I know checked again with an electric device and proceeded to call an ambulance.... I think I would have double checked with a manual device as electric devices are prone to faults, especially since the man looked fine, was talking and laughing etc. Incidentally BP recorded on elctric as 80/40

No question, I would have rechecked with a manual BP and assessed heart and circulatory areas as well.

What was DX? Need to check for bruie's? Carotids? What meds are involved?

You are correct. If the electric one shows a reading that is way out there, I would always go straight to doing it the old way. Technology is not always foolproof. The batteries may need replacing, any number of things. Specially if the patient is not having any symptoms. What did EMS say when they got there?

Yes I would have checked the patients BP manually.:)

Always recheck manually. Always.

I prefer the manual,the patient only has to move to knock the digital ones wrong and most of ours are so confused they won't keep still!

Yes. Those electronic blood pressure monitors are prone to mistakes. I would've checked it again manually. Sometimes, the good Ol' Fashioned way is best!

:icon_roll would have checked manually. i always check manuaully if i get a wacky reading from a machine! better to double check machines are not humans and not always correct!

It is against our policy to use the wrist cuffs for blood pressures. Of course I'd check it manually and decide based on symptoms whether or not the patient needed to be sent out. I was a patient once....student nurse came in, checked my blood pressure, shouted OH MY GOD!!! and ran out of the room. She dragged her instructor back in the room and was hysterical because my blood pressure was 80/60. My pressure is low to begin with and I had been in bed for 2 days doing nothing. Lucky for her I didn't freak out with the OH MY GOD and calmly told her I was fine. I did tell her that shouting OH MY GOD and running from the room wasn't really an appropriate response.

We need to rely on our assessment skills and not a piece of machinery.

You could even start w/ rechecking cuff placement and tightness and then rechecking w/ the machine. Just last week, in each set of vitals taken by the CNA on a particular pt. the BP was consistently low, but when I took it again with good cuff placement it was WNL.

(BTW - I did also check manually. Pt. had "floppy" arms - my guess is CNA was being too nice and not getting the cuff tight enough, which would have also impacted any manual numbers.)