manual BP's?

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Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg.

Do you find manual BP's to be more accurate? I work on a floor where in the AM the nurses are responsible for getting 0800 vitals and we have 40+ patients and 1 or maybe 2 dinamaps that actually work. As you can imagine, we all fight for them and sometimes I can't get vitals until 0900 and the doctors are always ******. I am thinking about just bringing in a cuff and taking my BPs manually. Do you think there will be any issues with this?

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Nope, they are definitely more accurate if taken correctly.

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Specializes in LPN, Peds, Public Health.

Agree with LouisVRN.

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Specializes in LTC.

I hate those damn dynamap things. They never work, they go too tight for B/P's.

If the CNA reports a B/P to me that is too high or too low. I always go check it manually.

It takes not even a minute and you know you are going to get a true reading.

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I never use the dynampas! Hate them. I always have my own cuff with me. I trust my ears and eyes much more than I trust the machine.

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I prefer the manual cuff. In fact, whenever I'm doing a serious assessment I use it. I'm in LTC so the cuffs are fine for the a.m. meds, but not if I'm really trying to figure out what's going on.

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Check with your facility first.

Generally using your own cuff from home would not be allowed.

If it is not being calibrated by the facility, how can they know or verify that it is accurate?

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I refuse to use Dynamaps anymore unless there are no functioning manual cuffs ANYWHERE in the building.

Ours are just too old and take forever -- I'm talking 3-4 minutes for one reading.

And half the time that reading is incorrect (and yes, I do know how to use the machine correctly).

Plus, the constant inflating and deflating seems to be quite painful for the residents, especially when their forearms start turning purple.

I stopped using them when 90% of the residents on my unit where all, according to the Dynamap, having hypertensive crises (everyone was 200+ mm Hg systolic).

I've found it to be much, much faster and more accurate to just do manual readings on everyone.

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.
I refuse to use Dynamaps anymore unless there are no functioning manual cuffs ANYWHERE in the building.

Ours are just too old and take forever -- I'm talking 3-4 minutes for one reading.

And half the time that reading is incorrect (and yes, I do know how to use the machine correctly).

Plus, the constant inflating and deflating seems to be quite painful for the residents, especially when their forearms start turning purple.

I stopped using them when 90% of the residents on my unit where all, according to the Dynamap, having hypertensive crises (everyone was 200+ mm Hg systolic).

I've found it to be much, much faster and more accurate to just do manual readings on everyone.

I agree. I hate the Dynamaps. Several weeks ago, everybody on our tele floor had a SBP of 210... I've asked our CA's to recognize trends and to retake a pressure manually if it seems odd. Some do, some don't.

I completely prefer the manual...

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Specializes in LTC.
I refuse to use Dynamaps anymore unless there are no functioning manual cuffs ANYWHERE in the building.

Ours are just too old and take forever -- I'm talking 3-4 minutes for one reading.

And half the time that reading is incorrect (and yes, I do know how to use the machine correctly).

Plus, the constant inflating and deflating seems to be quite painful for the residents, especially when their forearms start turning purple.

I stopped using them when 90% of the residents on my unit where all, according to the Dynamap, having hypertensive crises (everyone was 200+ mm Hg systolic).

I've found it to be much, much faster and more accurate to just do manual readings on everyone.

One night the supervisor was trying to find one that worked so she tried to take my blood pressure to test it. The thing was so tight it was painful and I can take a really tight blood pressure cuff I don't mind it. and it didn't even get a reading.. it just said 'ERROR"

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Specializes in LPN, Peds, Public Health.
One night the supervisor was trying to find one that worked so she tried to take my blood pressure to test it. The thing was so tight it was painful and I can take a really tight blood pressure cuff I don't mind it. and it didn't even get a reading.. it just said 'ERROR"

AND when they get an error, they just automatically reinflate, even more than the first time.... In school we were taught to wait 2 minutes before reinflating the cuff, or change arms.... yep... dont like them... the only time my blood pressure is ever elevated is when I go to the DR and they use one of those... and it always does the ERROR message the first time and reinflates itself... dont trust them.

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Specializes in LTC.
AND when they get an error, they just automatically reinflate, even more than the first time.... In school we were taught to wait 2 minutes before reinflating the cuff, or change arms.... yep... dont like them... the only time my blood pressure is ever elevated is when I go to the DR and they use one of those... and it always does the ERROR message the first time and reinflates itself... dont trust them.

Its terrible. Most of the CNA's rely on them for vitals. I'd rather spend the time to do all the vitals manually and get a good true set.

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