C007: Comparison of wrist blood pressure (BP) measurement with conventional sphygmomanometry in an out-patient clinic

Oscillometric measurement of BP at the wrist is becoming a widely used method for detection of hypertension and it's control by treatment. Unfortunately, there are no studies available, which evaluate this method of BP measurement in a clinical routine-setting. Therefore, a series of 333 consecutive patients (pts.), who were admitted to our cardiology out-patient department for various reasons were included in the study. BP was measured at both upper-arms according to the recommendations of JNC VI. Oscillometric measurement was performed at the contralateral wrist simultaneously. BP readings were taken by three nurses, who underwent a special training for the use of the oscillometric device applied at the wrist (“Klock” by I.E.M.; Stolberg, Germany) and a conventional auscultatory sphygmomanometer. 78 pts. were excluded from the study due to differences in BP >5 mmHg between both upper-arms or due to error-messages of the wrist-device. The data of 255 pts. (149 male, mean age 65±13, range 18–95 years) are presented. BP values were compared by the Mann-Whitney-Rank-Sum test. Mean conventional BP was 137±20 / 80±11, mean wrist BP was 153±28 / 87±18 mmHg (p