Funding outcome

Blood pressure measurement is a common procedure performed in pediatric medicine. Accurate measurement of blood pressure is critical to the screening, diagnosis and management of hypertension. There are two ways to measure blood pressure: listening with a stethescope (auscultation) and using an automated device (oscillometry). In adults, clinical guidelines strongly endorse use of automated blood pressure measurement instead of auscultation. In children, auscultatory blood pressure measurement remains the reference standard because concerns exist regarding the accuracy of automated blood pressure measurement in children. Despite this, automated measurement is used often in clinical practice, and with increasing frequency. Automated blood pressure devices work by sensing pulse waves through a blood pressure cuff, converting these pulses into an aggregate curve (called a waveform envelope), and calculating a blood pressure value. The blood pressure calculation is performed by applying an algorithm to the waveform envelope. The best algorithm to use in children is not known because of lack of research - this is why there are concerns about the accuracy of automated meausurement in children. In order to study the algorithm, we need to be able to record the oscillometric waveform envelope. We have designed a blood pressure device that can record the waveform envelope and apply different algorithms to it in order to determine which algorithm gives a measurement that is most accurate (i.e., closest to auscultatory blood pressure measurement). We plan to recruit children aged 2-12 years, take several blood pressure measurements from each child using both the auscultatory and automated methods. We are aiming to collect usable data in 255 children. We will record the oscillometric waveform envelope and determine the best algorithm to determine blood pressure in children of these ages. This work will lead to improved accuracy of oscillimetric devices and their enhanced use in pediatric patients.